Asia Pacific Security

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…
Australia-India nuclear deal: Parliamentary treaties committee recommends tough conditions
Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Treaties (JSCOT) presented its report on the Australia India nuclear cooperation Agreement on 8 September after ten of months deliberation…
Why Park Geun Hye attended China's World War Two military parade
Last week, South Korean President Park Geun Hye attended the military parade for China's 70th anniversary commemoration of the end of World War Two. Officially billed as a…
Reflections on the 2015 Lowy Lecture: Greater Asia
Delivering the 2015 Lowy Lecture in Sydney yesterday, General David Petraeus outlined a thought-provoking grand strategy for 'Greater Asia'.  Geographically, Petraeus defines…
Despite protests, collective self-defence and Abe remain
There were huge protests over the weekend in Japan against legislation, approved in principle by the Abe cabinet in July, which will reinterpret the Japanese Constitution to…
Passive-aggressive rivalry deepens China-Japan tensions
By Yanmei Xie, International Crisis Group’s Senior China Analyst, and Rachel Vandenbrink, graduate student at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University. China’s…
Hegemon: Wargaming the South China Sea
Hegemon is a wickedly interactive multi-player/multi-round geostrategic game devised by the Potomac Foundation. Each player represents a country, fielding certain economic and…
How did Chinese media react to Abe's World War II speech?
By Marie-Alice McLean-Dreyfus, an intern with the Lowy Institute's East Asia Program. According to Chinese media outlets, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's speech on 14 August…
Taliban factionalism rises after Mullah Omar's death
The recent confirmation of the death of Mullah Mohammed Omar, the symbolic leader of the Taliban, has added fresh uncertainty to Afghanistan's fledgling peace process.  There were…
Dredging fleet shores up Beijing's position in South China Sea and beyond
By Dr Andrew Erickson, Associate Professor at the US Naval War College,  and Research Intern Kevin Bond at the China Maritime Studies Institute, US Naval War College China's…