Australia and Asia
Turnbull Government adrift on ambiguous South China Sea rhetoric
With the revelation last week that China had reportedly deployed surface to air missiles on Woody Island, rising tensions in the South China Sea have once again been thrust into…
We should think carefully about an Australian FONOP in the South China Sea
On 30 January, 95 days after its previous effort, the US Navy conducted another 'freedom of navigation operation' in the South China Sea (an operation known by the unlovely FONOP…
Five ways Australian politicians could do some good on the South China Sea
Shadow Defence Minister Senator Conroy should be applauded for entering the debate on Australia's South China Sea policy. His instincts that Australia should do more to support a…
Much at stake for Turnbull and the region at East Asia Summit
The 10th East Asia Summit this weekend promises to be one of the most interesting bits of summitry in some time. This, the last stop on Malcolm Turnbull’s five-nation tour which…
India's interests are aligning with Australia's; now Modi must grasp the opportunity
As the fastest growing economy in Asia, many countries are vying for India's attention. India's understaffed Ministry of External Affairs is constantly grappling with the demands…
Why no tears will be shed for Australia's knights and dames
So Tony Abbott's revival of knights and dames has proved a short lived thing, with newly installed PM Malcolm Turnbull moving quickly to axe the contentious honours.
It's a move…
As RAN prepares to exercise with China's navy, Australia risks a PR disaster
Australia and its Navy are in an awkward spot, caught between China and the US in the full glare of a global media spotlight shone on the South China Sea.
Two Royal Australian…
Diagnosing Asia's Australian problem
For decades, there has been a familiar refrain: Australia has an Asia problem. We don’t engage enough with Asia, or understand its languages or diverse cultures. From Ross…
Xi in America: China's poor grasp of public diplomacy on full display
Having a Catholic Pope and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China descend on Washington at almost exactly the same time helped illustrate something important about…
Reader riposte: Australia-India nuclear deal
By Ron Walker, currently a visiting fellow at the Asia Pacific College of Diplomacy at ANU. Ron is a former DFAT officer who worked for 20 years in Australia's nuclear diplomacy…