Asia
Prabowo in China: Indonesia’s president-elect on the world stage
President-elect Prabowo Subianto of Indonesia visited China, Japan and Malaysia last week, heralding his intent to foster foreign relations earnestly after he becomes president in…
What are China’s long-term Antarctic ambitions?
The recent opening of China’s Qinling base, its third permanent Antarctic station, has worried some Australian and American observers. Their concerns suggest it may be time…
India's turbulent history newly revealed
Review: Crosswinds, by Vijay Gokhale (Penguin Random House India, 2024) and To Raise a Fallen People, by Rahul Sagar (Columbia University Press, 2022).
India’s role on…
Don’t play it by ear: Audio deepfakes in a year of global elections
Artificial intelligence company OpenAI recently introduced Voice Engine, a natural-sounding speech generator that uses text and a 15-second audio sample to create an “emotive and…
Pakistan: The dangerous reality of working on China’s megaprojects
The killing of five Chinese engineers in a 26 March suicide attack in Pakistan’s northwest has renewed concerns about the safety and security of Chinese personnel and projects in…
What should Australia be doing about the South China Sea?
It’s a mark of our turbulent times that China’s dangerous and illegal actions against the Philippines at the Second Thomas Shoal currently only sit in the second tier of…
How the Myanmar regime is surviving
Myanmar’s gruelling civil war grinds on as euphoria over the stunning surprise offensive launched by opposition forces in October 2023 (Operation 1027) gives way to alarm at the…
Australia’s Southeast Asia trade stumbling block
Australia recently announced the creation of a $2 billion Southeast Asian Financing Facility to increase trade and investment in the region. While this is a good start, to get the…
A wave of US trilaterals sends a clear message to China
After months of speculation, the White House has confirmed the inaugural Trilateral Leaders’ Summit between Japan, the Philippines and the United States. On 11 April, US President…
Myanmar: The junta’s forced conscription of Rohingyas
Six years ago, a calculated “cleansing operation” conducted by the Myanmar Armed Forces and aided by local militias resulted in the expulsion of more than 750,000 Rohingyas from…