Asia
Australia’s comparative advantage in climate transition
Australia’s $2 billion Southeast Asia Investment Financing Facility (SEAIFF) is a catch-all response to diverse objectives. It was a “deliverable” – or at least an “announcable” –…
What Prabowo’s election victory in Indonesia means for deeper reconciliation with Timor‑Leste
Prabowo Subianto’s recent election win has sparked varied reactions, and while some interpret it as a setback for democratic progress since the 1998 reformasi, I see it as an…
Three factors hardening China’s stance on Taiwan
Denny Roy’s recent article in The Interpreter provided a perceptive analysis arguing a full-scale China-Taiwan war was unlikely in the short term. Roy concluded that China has…
In the Olympics of Drag, Taiwan just took the gold
For Taiwan, which often finds its international participation constrained – barred from a World Health Organization membership and competing under the “Chinese Taipei” flag at the…
The Kyrgyzstan route facilitating Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Kyrgyzstan’s trade figures defy economic logic, suggesting that a vast amount of its imports are bound for a third country – namely, Russia. Kyrgyzstan’s trans-shipment to Russia…
China’s high ambition for the low-altitude economy
The futuristic notion of flying drones buzzing atop houses and city streets, making deliveries or even transporting passengers, might never quite eventuate. Yet governments and…
Are US export controls making China’s chip industry more innovative?
Recent reports of Chinese semiconductor chip manufacturers planning to produce 5-nanometre (nm) chips this year raise several uncomfortable questions for American efforts to…
Afghan women: The silent victims of Taliban brutality
The Taliban’s Supreme Leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada has vowed to start stoning women to death in public. On 23 March, in a voice message aired on a Taliban-controlled…
Japan: Can foreign policy achievements save Kishida?
A visit to the United States this month has further added to Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio’s growing list of foreign policy achievements, even as his administration…
Party time: The foreign policy promises as India’s election gets underway
Voting in India’s national elections opens today and the domestic electorate shows an increasing interest in foreign policies. The election manifestos of three national political…