Vietnam: reconciling the diaspora
Healing the rift between the current regime and many Vietnamese abroad is a cause long overdue.
Weekend catch-up: Singapore summit, China–Pakistan, and diplomacy at the World Cup
The week that was on The Interpreter.
World Cup: diplomacy on the pitch
Hosting the tournament is a chance to show off to the world, and offers a snapshot of perceptions of the host country.
The US and the West: with friends like that ...
Lost trust between leaders and policy concerns under Trump have hardened into an existential crisis.
Taking a stand for North Korean rocket engine tests
Pyongyang has pledged to dismantle a rocket engine test stand, which is less of a concession than it might seem.
Trump-Kim summit: China smiles
China’s political elite know that this is only the beginning, but have several reasons to be pleased.
Human rights missing in Trump–Kim summit
With the relationship shifting towards conciliation, human rights language has largely disappeared from Trump’s vocabulary.
Will Pakistan’s CPEC dream turn into a nightmare?
Chinese infrastructure investment in Pakistan diverts attention from much-needed reform of the country’s unresponsive economy.
Understanding what is important
Anthony Bubalo, author of “Remaking the Middle East”, reflects on his changed priorities when observing the Middle East.
Trump–Kim summit: negotiating weakness
The real agenda in US–North Korea talks may be economic and political, rather than about arms.
Pacific links: World Oceans Day, Marshall Islands climate finance, and more
Links and updates from across the Pacific.
Trump–Kim summit: Moon’s conflicted achievement
The South Korean President’s shuttle diplomacy may fracture his relationship with the US.
“Gunfights” in Bangladesh
Outrage over extrajudicial killings is dominating conversation ahead of general elections later this year.
The Supreme Leader and his bodyguards
The jogging bodyguards alongside Kim Jong-un’s limousine are more than a charade.
Trump-Kim summit: history happens
Donald Trump deserves credit for creating a moment that could – maybe – escape the madness of destruction.
G7: the most honest summit – ever!
The more pretence there is agreement between countries when there is not, the more it undermines the credibility of other commitments leaders make at summits.
Trump–Kim: an agenda for forgotten nuclear victims
Donald Trump has a unique chance to turn negotiations to his advantage and that of about 2000 survivors of the A-bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki who wound up in North Korea.
A new path to dispute settlement
The novel mechanism that solved the Timor Sea dispute may not have the same success in other complex and highly contested cases across the region.
A primer for the Trump–Kim summit
How The Interpreter has followed a remarkable few months of on-again off-again diplomacy.
Weekend catch-up: the Shangri-La Dialogue, the G7 minus America, and Facebook in PNG
The week that was on The Interpreter.
Cambodia: the unfree press
Censorship has decimated a once vibrant media landscape, and the restrictions are growing.
Indonesia’s LGBT crackdown
Despite abandoning attempts to make same-sex relationships a crime, the politics around the LGBT community remains a flashpoint in Indonesia.
Time for reason, not emotion, in the “China influence” debate
Australians have been passengers, if not active participants, in our own polarisation.
Economic diplomacy brief: G7 after Trump, avoiding a China bust, and ASEAN integration
Greg Earl with economic news from across the region.
Name shame: China’s trouble with Taiwan
Beijing’s nomenclature belligerence may actually be working in Tapei’s favour.
Kashmir: walking the line
Despite a new agreement after a spike in ceasefire violations, Kashmir continues to divide India–Pakistan relations.
Tariffs: the US rebuffed
Industrial nations helped the US export its way out of trouble in the 1980s but are now less inclined to assist America with economic problems of its own making.
North Korea: beyond an all-or-nothing ultimatum
South Korean, Japanese, and Western elites have painted themselves into a corner on complete, verifiable, irreversible nuclear disarmament.
In conversation: Indonesian sectarianism
Ima Abdulrahim and Sandra Hamid talk religion and politics in Indonesia with the Lowy Institute’s Matthew Busch.
Immigration links: TEDxKakuma, family separations, and more
Links and updates from across the migration and border policy fields.
Redesigning a nation: Guo Pei
“Yellow is Forbidden” tells the story of Chinese fashion standing side by side with European fashion houses.
What a partial internet shutdown would mean for PNG
While the downsides of Facebook are obvious, it is not clear that a temporary ban is the answer.
China eyes its next prize – the Mekong
After the South China Sea, Beijing’s “salami slicing” strategy is moving along Southeast Asia’s longest river.
New Caledonia: dangerous games
Some local leaders are putting short-term political gain ahead of constructive participation in a referendum process.
When is monetary policy neutral?
Determining the neutral rate can determine how much stimulus an economy requires, and important policy implications follow if present low estimates are correct.
Japan-Russia: Abe’s brutal truth
After nearly two dozen bilateral meetings with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Japan’s Shinzo Abe still cannot show meaningful progress on a territorial dispute between the two nations.
Mindful Mattis did just fine at the Shangri-La Dialogue
The US Secretary of Defense fleshed out the Trump administration’s “free and open Indo-Pacific” strategy with aplomb.
Modi plays by the “rules” at Shangri-La
The Indian Prime Minister intended to reassure, and hinted only obliquely at some of the challenges confronting India and the region.
A study in controversy: Chinese students in Australia
A love of country is not always synonymous with an endorsement of the government when speaking with Chinese students in Australia.
Weekend catch-up: Singaporean politics, Wenchuan earthquake, and an Antarctic runway
The week that was on The Interpreter.
Rohingya: UN takes a cautious step forward in Myanmar
Myanmar may hope to relieve international pressure over the Rohingya refugees, but a new arrangement with the UN could also lead to greater transparency in northern Rakhine State.
Has the PLA really overlooked its amphibious force?
Taiwan would be well advised to improve its defences and make itself a tough nut to crack.
Singapore summit: the case for guarded optimism
The US and North Korea are far apart, but look beneath the surface and there is a chance for agreement.
India: guiltless children in prison
More than 1800 children languish in Indian jails with their imprisoned mothers, often as a consequence of bureaucratic incompetence.
Change in Malaysia, awkward questions for Singapore
Singapore, a country that has also been ruled by the same party since independence, is watching as its close neighbour strikes out on a new path.
Student politics: Indonesians confront China prejudice
Allegations of communist indoctrination of Indonesian students in China again shows the country’s struggle to reconcile tropes of the past.
A stocktake of Australia’s China policy debate
The relationship is getting harder to manage, but this difficulty is not an inherently bad thing.
South China Sea: Paracels in the spotlight
While Vietnam would welcome American warships sailing near the disputed islands, other Southeast Asian counties would be concerned about escalating militarisation.
Beyond the “Chinese debt trap”
Small states are hardly just vulnerable victims, but often leverage their geopolitical importance to gain tremendous bargaining power.