Some strange things have been said about the Australia–China relationship during recent weeks. Some commentators have blamed the Turnbull government for mishandling relations with Beijing and for making too much of a fuss about China’s …
Sea state Ethiopia is planning to build a navy, despite having no direct access to the coast. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced the plan at a briefing with heads of the country’s National Defense Force, …
It is not obvious, but North Korea could be the best thing for the relationship between the United States and China since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Whether or not that potential is realised, …
When Australia adopted the term ‘Indo-Pacific’ five years ago—replacing ‘Asia–Pacific’—the aim was to widen Canberra’s understanding of ‘the region’. ‘Ho hum’, said the region. Now, the idea of the Indo-Pacific is humming. Japan’s Shinzō Abe …
Defeating groups such as al-Qaeda (AQ) and Daesh cannot be done through military means alone, but will require a much more detailed understanding of the ideology and theology driving them and encouraging their recruits. A …
The issue of how Australia should position itself between the current primary power in the Asia–Pacific (the US) and the rising contender (China) has returned suddenly and forcefully to Australian policy debates. If anything, the …
Sexual violence in Myanmar Researchers at Monash University have compiled a new ‘Preventing mass sexual violence in Asia–Pacific’ dataset, which documents reports of sexual violence and gender-based violence across the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. …
In February, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner, Andrew Colvin, told the Senate’s Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee that he faced a supply and demand challenge at a time of budget cuts. ‘The demand for …
Scarcity of food and energy is a growing problem due to the effects of climate change. Some arid areas may run out of water and food. The graph above shows per capita water supply in water-stressed countries …
A lot of ‘c’ words were tossed at China during the Shangri-La Dialogue—collaboration and competition, coercion and consequences, challenges and choices. The dangers of combativeness. Dark conclusions about China’s militarisation of the South China Sea. …
The world Just days after Donald Trump impetuously cancelled the North Korea–US summit in Singapore, the meeting looks to be back on. After an impromptu summit between North and South Korea at the weekend, the White …
This is the 12th in our series ‘Australia in Space’ leading up to ASPI’s Building Australia’s Strategy for Space conference in June. To make a case for a scientifically literate population in a country that has just …
The joke of the week in Singapore: A Singapore man goes to bed in May 1988 and sleeps for three decades. In May 2018, he awakes to be astonished by the length of his beard and the …
In the three months’ worth of data I collected from the top 10 foreign embassies in China—measured by follower numbers for my just-released report Weibo diplomacy and censorship in China—the Australian embassy’s account was censored just …
Many Australians will remember the late NZ Prime Minister Robert Muldoon’s witticism that Kiwis crossing the Tasman raised the average IQ of both countries. Another time, after tight wage, price and currency controls, he was …
This is the 11th in our series ‘Australia in Space’ leading up to ASPI’s Building Australia’s Strategy for Space conference in June. The ability to make intelligent decisions is supported by access to timely, reliable, superior information. …
The beat Surveillance state A new police camera system in New Jersey is raising serious privacy concerns. The city of Newark plans to install over 300 surveillance cameras to create a ‘virtual block watch’. The new …
Europe and Asia have never been so close. Our economies are interconnected; our cultures are interconnected; and our security is connected: we face the same challenges, we confront similar threats, and we share an interest …
Australia’s problem with China is bigger and simpler than we think, and thus harder to solve. It isn’t that Beijing doesn’t like Julie Bishop, or that it’s offended by our new political interference legislation, or …
Are we preparing to fight the wrong war? That’s the question being asked increasingly frequently by Australian defence planners, especially in the RAAF. What makes some people nervous are a number of emerging disruptive technologies that …