Australia in the World

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India-Australia strategic partnership: Leveraging aerospace capacity

The forthcoming virtual summit between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison assumes considerable significance for an India-Australia strategic partnership, particularly as it comes against the backdrop of heightened friction with China for both countries.

By M Matheswaran

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Who really killed the Quad 1.0?

The tale has become accepted diplomatic folklore. In the telling, it was Australia, back in 2008 in the early days of the Rudd government, that decided to scuttle the then-nascent Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, the four-way talks also involving Japan, the United States and India. To compound

By Daniel Flitton

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Prospects for closer strategic ties between India and Australia

China’s rise and assertive behaviour has been a source of concern to both India and Australia. While India prioritises its territorial disputes with China and China’s growing presence in the Indian Ocean, Australia is concerned about growing tensions in Sino-US relations and the undesirable

By Biren Nanda

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Seychelles: Truth, justice and Australia

Australia has not usually had a high profile in the Indian Ocean island states such as Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar. This despite Australia’s huge Indian Ocean littoral, presence of three oceanic territories, mutual Commonwealth links and substantial investment. Inter-governmental visits

By Ashton Robinson

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A G7+?

“Flattery with a catch” is the best way to describe Donald Trump’s call to include Australia in an expanded Group of 7 meeting, or G7. No doubt Canberra would love a seat at the top table. But the US President has also proposed bringing Russia back into the fold – which will be

By Daniel Flitton

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There is no quick fix to our parlous relationship with China

Originally published in the Australian Financial Review

By Richard McGregor

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China and Australia's relationship is souring but not weakening

COVID-19 and politics are driving them apart but trade keeps them together. Originally published in Nikkei Asian Review.

By Natasha Kassam

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How is an advanced Australia faring in the Asian century?

China’s barley tariffs have thrust the challenges of trade into the headlines with a prominence rarely seen in the popular Australian media. Although a crucial basis of national prosperity, the “trade” side of Australia’s international engagement has seemingly always had a lower profile than

By Tim Harcourt

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A Yazidi genocide trial commences – a Hezbollah ban contemplated

Remarkably, for all the international attention on the plight of the Yazidi back in 2014 as Islamic State ravaged Iraq, it has taken until now, six years later, to bring the first charges of genocide. A trial commenced last month in a German court of a man accused of murdering a Yazidi girl traded

By Rodger Shanahan

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Getting back to harvest: The way forward after China’s barley tariff

China’s decision to impose heavy tariffs on Australian barley and the alleged connection with Australia’s call for an independent international investigation into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic has been widely and intensively reported in recent weeks. What is more important now is to

By Weihuan Zhou

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The battle for a Covid vaccine risks losing the “war”

Leaders of nations around the globe have resorted to the language of warfare to characterise their fight against Covid-19. From US President Donald Trump, who declared himself a “war president”, to China’s Xi Jinping committing to a “people’s war”, to Britain’s Prime Minister Boris

By Geoff Kitney

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Islands of opportunity: Where India and Australia can work together

As India and Australia prepare for a virtual summit next month between prime ministers amid the coronavirus pandemic, a possible strategic initiative could involve the cooperative use of their respective island territories in the Indian Ocean for strategic purposes. India’s Andaman and Nicobar

By Darshana Baruah

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Economic diplomacy: Mood shift afoot

Retail therapyWhen even the normally unflappable Trade Minister Simon Birmingham bluntly tells business to reduce ties with the country that has underpinned the Australian economy for two decades, a mood shift is afoot. It took some prodding, but Birmingham finally broke cover at the end of his ABC&

By Greg Earl

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West Papua: Looking for an opening

When the world is grappling with the kind of calamity few of us have experienced before, it can be easy to forget other crises. Climate change springs to mind. So, too, does the record level of human displacement around the world, a problem largely driven by conflict. That brings us to the long-

By Johnny Blades

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The false dichotomy at the heart of Australia’s China debate

A new narrative, advanced by the “wolverines” and like-minded commentators, is emerging and solidifying within Australia’s China “debate”. This narrative casts disliked Chinese policies as attacks on Australian sovereignty, and thus any problem in the bilateral relationship is instantly

By Iain Henry

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COVIDcast Episode 11: Dave Sharma MP on COVID-19 and Pacific relations

In Episode 11 of COVIDcast, Jonathan Pryke, Director of the Pacific Islands Program, sat down with Dave Sharma, Liberal member for the federal seat of Wentworth, to discuss strengthening ties between Australia and the Pacific, and a potential Australia‒Pacific travel “bubble”. Sharma has

By Jonathan Pryke, Dave Sharma

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COVIDcast Episode 11: Dave Sharma MP on COVID and Australia’s Pacific Relationship

In Episode 11, Jonathan Pryke, Director of the Pacific Islands Program sits down with Dave Sharma, Liberal member for the federal seat of Wentworth, NSW, to discuss strengthening ties between Australia and the Pacific, and a potential Pacific travel bubble

By Jonathan Pryke, Dave Sharma

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Covid-19 and the acceleration of state surveillance

If the 15th-century philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli were alive today, he would surely have recognised the power of surveillance technologies that states such as China, Singapore, South Korea, and others have adopted in the fight against Covid-19. Patrol robots and drones, CCTV cameras and

By Muhammad Faizal Abdul Rahman

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Australians doubt either US or China will emerge stronger after Covid

While much has been written about Covid-19’s lasting effects on the world order, one aspect is becoming more evident: the world after the pandemic may not look so different to the one before it. As prominent US commentator Richard Haass writes, “Covid-19 will not so much change the basic

By Natasha Kassam

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In beef over barley, Chinese economic coercion cuts against the grain

Last weekend news broke that the Chinese government was considering imposing large tariffs on Australian barley exports. Now, China-bound exports from four Australian meat processors have been suspended. Following Australian calls for an independent inquiry into the early handling of Covid-19,

By Darren Lim, Victor Ferguson

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COVIDpoll: Lowy Institute Polling on Australian Attitudes to the Coronavirus Pandemic

The Lowy Institute COVIDpoll finds that almost all Australians say Australia has handled COVID-19 well, but most are disappointed by China and the United States’ response

By Natasha Kassam

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For Australia, a testing friendship

It’s got nothing to do with Covid-19, but a fascinating short passage in Malcolm Turnbull’s new memoir is illustrative of the challenges Scott Morrison faces in dealing with US President Donald Trump, and how much Australia can rely on the US as it squares off in an increasingly sharp rhetorical

By Daniel Flitton

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What’s missing from the Strategic Update

Foreign Editor for The Australian, Greg Sheridan, got his hands on a copy of the yet-to-be-released Defence Strategic Update, and he wrote about it over the weekend. The Strategic Update is yet to pass through cabinet, but if Sheridan’s account is accurate and the recommendations are

By Sam Roggeveen

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COVIDcast Episode 10: Australia’s role in shaping a post-corona world

In this episode of COVIDcast, Hervé Lemahieu, Director of the Asian Power and Diplomacy Program, sits down with Senator Penny Wong, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, to discuss Australia’s role in shaping the post Covid-19 world. The discussion

By Hervé Lemahieu , Penny Wong

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Under cover of Covid-19, conflict in Myanmar goes unchecked

For Myanmar, the onset of Covid-19 has sparked a renewed crackdown in Rakhine and Chin states. These developments may not capture widespread attention – particularly as relations with China become increasingly fraught – yet they cannot be ignored, and must be recognised as a serious

By James Barklamb

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Wuhan lab claims: Is Australia questioning China? Or the US? Both?

A calculated leak? – Ben Scott Local newspapers have published remarkable claims detailing Australia’s reported concern about suggestions coming out of Washington that the outbreak of Covid-19 may have been the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan rather than coming from an

By Ben Scott, Sam Roggeveen, Natasha Kassam

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Economic diplomacy: Lifting the doona on a post-pandemic world

Health v growth The language of lockdown has certainly undergone a change, from Prime Minister Scott Morrison advocating six months of hibernation only a month ago to now warning the country cannot stay under the doona much longer. But it is no surprise the government's rhetoric has shifted to

By Greg Earl

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Creating a Pacific bubble

The success in containing the Covid-19 pandemic in both Australia and New Zealand has led to a novel idea – the opening up of trans-Tasman travel as long as each country is able to keep infections under control. It would be a ray of hope and normalcy, and an economic plus for both parties. While

By Joe Rafalowicz

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The prospects for China’s post–Covid-19 economy

While the Canberra political establishment has been sparring with China’s Foreign Ministry – and with Australian billionaires – much of the corporate elite has begun puzzling how to slipstream China’s post–Covid-19 economic recovery. Optimists hope that Beijing will summon a massive

By Rowan Callick

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Notes on representing Australia in Papua New Guinea

Jon Philp, who commenced as Australian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea early this month, is the 16th to serve as Australia’s lead diplomatic representative in Port Moresby. I know from experience that the role is unlike any other in the Australian foreign service. The incumbent has the

By Ian Kemish

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Foresight and pragmatism missing in Australia’s relations with China

There are many reasons the world needs an independent inquiry into the origins of the novel coronavirus. After all, the pandemic has infected nearly three million people and taken around 200,000 lives worldwide, at latest count. And the world should push for one at the appropriate time. Properly and

By Alistair Nicholas

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Information warfare in the theatre of Covid-19

Chaos is a ladder, said Littlefinger in Game of Thrones. Crisis is an opportunity, Sun Tzu didn’t say in The Art of War. Either way, in the United States, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and “infodemic”, political chaos is a clear and present danger, and an opportunity, in the covert and

By Damien Spry

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Back to the future: Keeping Australian air lines of communication open

One of the (many) astounding things that have come out of the Covid-19 crisis is just how fragile are Australia’s connections with the outside world. The government’s role in guaranteeing Australia’s communications, whether digitally or by sea or air, is one of the things that we will need to

By David Brewster

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105 years on, a digital commemoration marks a very different Anzac Day

This year, Anzac Day is different. The coronavirus pandemic has prompted the enforcement of measures to keep people physically apart and the cancelling of public gatherings and events, including Anzac Day services and marches. This leaves Australians and residents who had planned to attend Anzac Day

By Federica Caso

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Was 2020 Australia’s peak?

Back then it was less a date and more an aspiration. This week, 12 years ago, a thousand of the nation’s best and brightest gathered in Canberra for newly-elected Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s Australia 2020 Summit. The goal was to harness ideas to shape a long-term strategy for the nation to 2020

By Melissa Conley Tyler, Tiffany Liu

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Statesman Turnbull steps up: Secret letters, taming Trump, due credit

Big boys time From media baron Rupert Murdoch to leadership rival Peter Dutton, Malcolm Turnbull’s new memoir* released this week is partly built on his self-assessment that he can size up a bully better than most. “The one thing I’d learned with bullies is that sucking up to them is

By Greg Earl

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Australia needs a comprehensive plan for Covid-19 in the Pacific

Of all the regions in the world, the twin health and economic crises caused by the Covid-19 pandemic have the potential to hit the Pacific the hardest. Pacific Island nations supported Australia during our bushfire crisis, sending members of their defence forces and making donations to communities

By Pat Conroy

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International Covid cooperation: Lessons from HIV/AIDS

Since it was first identified in the early 1980s, HIV/AIDS has infected an estimated 78 million people and killed 35 million. Although there have been significant advances in treating HIV, there is still no cure and no vaccine. So there is a bitter sweet irony in the fact that Australian trials

By Annmaree O’Keeffe

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Australia should offer Indonesia crisis insurance – quickly

The Morrison government needs to urgently consider how it might best help Indonesia manage the economic risks posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Indonesia faces a perilous outlook. The government is struggling badly to control the virus. Making matters far worse, Indonesia has also been among

By Roland Rajah

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Economic diplomacy: foreign investment under Covid, supply chain kinks

World beating When the Australian government asserted control over all new foreign investment two weeks ago in response to Covid-19, the move was sugar-coated with the reassurance the country was still open for business. But with Prime Minister Scott Morrison now declaring his

By Greg Earl

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A French perspective on Australia’s role in the Indian Ocean

Every government is struggling with the Covid-19 crisis, with one eye to the post-coronavirus world. In this context, it may be worth looking at the French perception of Australia and their prospects, and need, for enhanced cooperation after the crisis. France increasingly sees Australia as a key

By Frédéric Grare

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Covid-19 is not only a health crisis, it’s a migration crisis

As Covid-19 spreads around the globe, it is precipitating a series of other shocks, one of which is a crisis in human movement. Australia, as one of the key migrant-receiving nations globally, is particularly affected. The migration crisis currently unfolding in Australia is primarily one of

By Anna Boucher

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Australia can’t let foreign aid fall victim to Covid-19

The Covid-19 pandemic comes precisely at a time when Australia needs to keep sight of our Pacific neighbours and to offer strategic support and help in dire times. With the 2020–21 Federal Budget now deferred until October, gauging what Covid-19 means for the Australian aid budget is impossible

By Philip Citowicki

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Avoiding the wrong lessons on aid and corruption

Is development aid an effective solution to lifting countries out of poverty? Roland Rajah, Director of the International Economy Program, and Research Fellow Alexandre Dayant write on aid and corruption. Originally published in the Devpolicy Blog

By Roland Rajah, Alexandre Dayant

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Are you ready for how the coronavirus is transforming the world?

As important as the health risks posed by the coronavirus pandemic and its containment are, leaders also need to start to think about the shape of the post–Covid-19 global economy. If they don’t, we all face a serious risk of succumbing to the new anti-globalisation protectionism that is on

By Alistair Nicholas, Guy McKanna

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The future ain’t what it used to be

What do the East Timorese defence force, “clean coal”, women’s empowerment, and Kevin Rudd’s first-term government have in common? The answer is the year 2020. Back when 2020 felt like a halcyon time far-far away, this was the year that, respectively, the Government of Timor-Leste, the

By Gordon Peake, Christian Downie

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Australia-Philippines: Prolonged partners

The announcement by the Duterte administration last month that it will terminate the 1998 Philippines-US Visiting Forces Agreement will likely also raise questions about the future of the Australia-Philippines political and security relationship. Australia and the US are the only two countries that

By Lucy West, Dan Halvorson

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Economic diplomacy: Rising risks and missing links in a pandemic

China syndrome Former Trump administration economic adviser Kevin Hassett had a backhanded compliment for Australia amid this week’s financial market turmoil when he described it as a closely watched proxy for the Chinese economy. Complaining that Chinese data on the recovery from coronavirus

By Greg Earl

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COVIDcast - Episode 1: The global response to the coronavirus

COVIDcast is a Lowy Institute pop-up podcast for anyone interested in understanding the effect of coronavirus on global politics. Each week for the next few weeks, Lowy Institute experts will sit down to discuss the implications of coronavirus for the world. To listen to the first episode, click

By Michael Fullilove, Richard McGregor, Ben Bland, Natasha Kassam

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Australia’s intelligence community needs another independent review

The title alone is enough to make senior members of Australia’s intelligence community shudder. And fair enough – Australia’s intelligence agencies are a well-reviewed community; there have been three over the past decade (in 2011, 2017 and another due this year). Senior figures including

By Danielle Cave, Alex Oliver

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