Australia and Asia
Malaysia: Opposition collapse offers new risks, opportunities
Only days after the somewhat inevitable dissolution of the opposition alliance in Malaysia, the disparate parties are jostling to create new partnerships.
For better or worse, the…
Papua's education malaise
This is part 3 of former Fairfax Media Indonesia correspondent Michael Bachelard's series on Papua. Here is the introduction, part 1 and part 2.
One sunny November school day at…
This week in Jakarta: The politics of Ramadan
Indonesia is the country with the greatest number of Muslims in the world, but it is not an Islamic state. Nor is it strictly secular – the first principle of the state ideology…
With the missionaries of Papua
This is part 1 of former Fairfax Media Indonesia correspondent Michael Bachelard's series on Papua. Here is the introduction to the series is here.
On a chilly Sunday evening in…
Lowy poll shows that values matter in foreign policy
The 2015 Lowy Institute Poll reveals a great deal about Australian attitudes towards China, both in terms of our bilateral relationship, but also how China fits into our broader…
Lowy poll: On China and energy, Australia maintains its sunny disposition
Overall, Australians continue to feel secure in the face of rising instability in the world and terrorism threats at home, according to the latest Lowy Institute poll.
But that…
Indonesia under SBY: Stability, stagnation, or both?
'What's in a name?' Shakespeare's Juliet asks. Quite a lot, as things turned out for her. And so it is for the just-published proceedings of the ANU Indonesian Update, titled The…
North Korea missile test: Seoul must now focus on sub hunting
North Korea's apparently successful test of a workable submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM) was big news over the weekend.
Signs that North Korea had been working on…
Beijing's Great Cannon exposes vulnerable Chinese tech firms
News last month of the Chinese Government's Great Cannon cyber warfare tool should ring warning bells for Chinese technology companies abroad already compromised by their…
Unquestioned beliefs on both sides of US-China divide
China and the US have both been described as countries that consider themselves to be exceptional. China, so much so, that some analysts argue it sees itself as 'uniquely unique'…