The Asia Pacific's Economies
Japan and China wrestle for ascendancy in Southeast Asia's railway Great Game
Luang Namtha in northern Laos is a sleepy wildlife reserve, popular with backpackers. In future it may become a vital geopolitical pivot point. Here the northern corridor to the…
Pacific links: Fiji's budget, Ok Tedi restructure, renewables, holiday reading and more
Matthew Dornan takes a look at Fiji’s 2016 budget. He notes that while the overall economic situation in Fiji is sound, the major policy reversals and long list of ad hoc…
How Australia can use economic diplomacy to get closer to Asia
There is more to be said about Martin Parkinson's speech on US economic diplomacy, and in particular how Australian attention has been diverted from the challenge of developing…
Pacific Island links: leaders in Paris, REDD+, budget woes, asbestos, ending AIDS and more
Pacific Island leaders are in Paris in force for the COP 21 United Nations conference on climate change. Leaders from Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia,…
China's Belt and Road initiative likely to bypass Australia
China's Belt and Road initiative – a vast array of promised Chinese investments in transport, energy and communications across Eurasia and Africa – is emerging as…
China lays down the cyber law: Play in our space, play by our rules
By Cheng Lim and Jack Maher. Cheng Lim leads the cyber security initiative at King & Wood Mallesons. Last year Jack Maher completed a Master of Chinese Law at Tsinghua University…
The TPP is not a containment strategy
Is the TPP an effort to contain China? If you've been reading the papers or glancing at social media recently, you could be forgiven for thinking so. The New York Times didn't…
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…
Waiting for the Fed to move
Global financial markets are on tenterhooks waiting for the US Federal Reserve to decide when to start raising the Fed funds rate – the short-term interest rate which sets the…
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…