China and the Pacific
Not the Indo-Pacific: a Melanesian view on strategic competition
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare recently affirmed his country’s adherence to the “friend to all, enemy to none” foreign policy ideal. He, like other Melanesian…
PNG voices: regional partnerships must be based on respect
When Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addressed the Papua New Guinea parliament in January, he entitled his speech “a bond between equals”. There was much in his address…
Weaving webs of statecraft in the Pacific Islands
The April 2022 news that China and Solomon Islands had entered into a security pact solidified perceptions that Australia and its partners were in a race with China for “influence…
China’s influence as a Pacific donor
China is now a principal donor in the Pacific alongside traditional development partners. Demonstrating its aid commitment to the region, China recently mobilised its navy and air…
The China factor in France’s growing engagement in the “peaceful sea”
In recent years, France has stepped up its Pacific engagement. In October 2020, it appointed Christophe Penot as its first ambassador for the Indo-Pacific. It released an updated…
China-Solomon Islands pact: Reading between the lines
What we know so far about the content of the China-Solomon Islands security pact, announced in April, points to Beijing’s preoccupation with the internal protection of its …
Palau faces the dragon
In 2015, tourism officials from the tiny Micronesian island nation of Palau likely scratched their heads in bewilderment at incoming figures on visitor arrivals. A record number…
Interactives
The Indo-Pacific Operating System: How can America shore up the regional order?
Five essays from experts from, or based in, Southeast Asia provide a sense of the region’s complexity and the nuance with which any effort to shore up – or rebuild – regional…
Commentary
Telstra’s Digicel Pacific challenge
The deal with the government insulates the telco from financial risk. But accepting the role of Australia’s lead business ambassador in the region makes it no set-and-forget…
Podcasts
Lowy Institute Conversations: Fan Yang and Fergus Ryan on Chinese-language media in Australia
In this episode of Conversations, Jennifer Hsu talks with Fan Yang and Fergus Ryan about the media representation of Australia-China relations, WeChat, self-censorship…