Asia and Pacific

Opportunity cost in Australia's future submarine decision
I'm only too ready to leave it up to strategic experts such as Rear Admiral Peter Briggs to sort out how many submarines we need. I'll stick to the economics. We shouldn't let the…
Digital Diplomacy links: Modi at Facebook, Russia memes, DFAT in denial and more
On the first Friday of each month the Interpreter publishes Digital Diplomacy links instead of the weekly Digital Asia links. As Australian digital diplomacy strives to catch-up…
DFAT & digital diplomacy: In denial and in need of review
In 2010 former Lowy Institute research fellow Fergus Hanson published a forward-looking policy brief urging Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to catch up…
Xi in America: China's poor grasp of public diplomacy on full display
Having a Catholic Pope and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China descend on Washington at almost exactly the same time helped illustrate something important about…
Digital Asia links: Battle of the US State visits — President Xi Jinping vs. Prime Minister Modi
The Asia Pacific is the most dynamic digital landscape in the world, home to the fastest adopters of new technologies and the largest concentration of mobile and social media…
Congress and Asia-Pacific policy: Dysfunction and neglect
Analyses
Congress and Asia-Pacific policy: Dysfunction and neglect
In this Analysis, Lowy Institute Research Fellow Aaron L. Connelly examines the role of the US Congress in policy toward the Asia-Pacific region.Aaron L Connelly
Australia's Future Submarine Project: The urgent need for economic scrutiny
The pace of decision-making on Australian submarines is quickening, with the core of the current debate driven exclusively by South Australian politics. But the insistent voices…
If Scott Morrison becomes treasurer, he can't change the world. But he can reinterpret it
Scott Morrison, widely expected to be appointed Australia's new treasurer early next week, can't change the world. Or at least not over the next year or so. But he can reinterpret…
Australia-South Korea 2+2 delivers ambitious agenda
One week ago – a long time in politics – the South Korean and Australian foreign and defence ministers held a '2-2' meeting in Sydney. This high-level biennial conclave for the…
As China marches forward, Japan and Russia watch with worry
Just one day after China's V-Day parade was held under auspiciously azure skies, smog rolled back over Beijing, as if a reminder of the evanescence of great power. George Orwell…