United States
AUKUS commits Australia to fight China if America does, simple
Defence Minister Richard Marles is sure that the AUKUS submarine deal does not commit Australia to support America in a war with China over Taiwan. He made the point in two…
Is a stable Afghanistan where China, Russia and the US cooperate?
There is little that the United States can concur with China and Russia at a time regularly described as a “Second (or New) Cold War”. Yet amid all the ideological differences,…
What went right in Iraq
“Certainly, the authorities in Washington who had prepared our policy directive did not visualise these conditions” – Lucius Clay, reflecting on his time in the 1940s as US…
Japan and South Korea: a logical but uneasy alignment
This month, Japan and South Korea struck a deal on the compensation of Korean labour imposed by the Japanese empire during Tokyo’s 1910–45 rule over the Korean Peninsula. The…
AUKUS: Asking a veteran submariner what to think
When the long-anticipated AUKUS announcement is made in San Diego next week, the specifics of the “optimal pathway” for Australia’s future nuclear-powered submarines – which…
AUKUS and intellectual property
While nuclear-powered submarines steal much of the media limelight, the AUKUS security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States is about much…
Balloon goes up for Washington’s “decisive decade”
US President Joe Biden’s 2022 US National Security Strategy underscored the “decisive decade” ahead for Washington to advance vital interests and out-manoeuvre its competitors. A…
Reset in US–Philippines relations tells of yet another China fumble
The Philippines recently granted the United States access to four more military bases, reportedly including at least one strategic location facing Taiwan. It’s an…
Power in Asia: six surprising facts
This year’s Lowy Institute Asia Power Index – an annual measure and analysis of each country’s resources and influence in the region – uncovered a number of unexpected findings.
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The big picture: five lessons for five years of the Asia Power Index
This morning we released the 2023 edition of the Lowy Institute Asia Power Index. This data-driven assessment measures national resources and international influence to determine…