Melbourne joins the Belt-and-Road
Maybe a state-level decision will be a circuit-breaker for Australia’s befuddled approach to China’s signature policy.
New Caledonia’s independence referendum explained
How and why this moment has arrived, who can vote, and what will happen next? Here is what you need to know.
Concerns over Saudi Arabia go far beyond Khashoggi
The death of the dissident journalist has exacerbated regional worry about the many missteps by the Saudi Crown Prince.
Caught in the net: slavery on Southeast Asian seas
The seafood you bought from your local market could have been caught by a slave.
Trump scores a win over Russia
Ribald nuclear threats by Vladimir Putin show that Washington’s decision to withdraw from the INF Treaty was right.
Disinformation campaigns and US elections
Alerted and (hopefully) alarmed, the new US tactic to scare off Russian interference won’t stop online trolls at home.
Bill Shorten takes on the world
It’s not Australia going it alone, but the Labor leader wants to chart a more independent course in foreign policy.
The Economist: a change of heart
In the face of effusive predictions, don’t break out the champagne. Keep calm and carry on.
#Metoo catches up with Bollywood and India beyond
The bollywood actor who triggered the #metoo movement in India was initially censured for her complaints.
With Trump in Mind, China Realigns
America's anti-China trade policies are compelling China to realign.
Is the TPP worth it?
Despite the hype, there are serious questions whether the benefits of the TPP really outweigh its costs.
The last man executed in Singapore, until the next
Singapore doubles down as Malaysia retreats from the death penalty.
Jamal Khashoggi: shifting law in a deadly turf war
The journalist’s death illustrates broader anxieties for the international rule of law and the fate of the global order.
Weekend catch-up: Mike Pence takes to the soapbox
Vietnam's censorship and foreign policy, Canada's Huawei deal, Himalayan tension: the week that was on the Interpreter.
Japan’s immigration and integration questions
Twice as many people move to Japan than to Australia, now Japan is finally set to accept foreign labourers.
The one Iran deal the US should keep
The 1955 Treaty of Amity has offered a chance to resolve disputes between the US and Iran. Abandoning it carries a cost.
Indonesia: populism and politicisation of Islam
The terrorism threat in Southeast Asia fundamentally changed over 15 years, but Indonesian laws struggled to adapt.
Indonesia’s anti-terror law: crisis to consensus
How Indonesia moves rapidly from statement to agreement on contentious revisions to anti-terror laws.
Never too late to get the kids off Nauru
Australia is overdue to respond to the deterioration of the mental and physical health of refugee children on Nauru.
Economic diplomacy: Japan + China, BRI push back
Watching Shinzo Abe try a high wire act with China’s Xi Jinping, and what tourism tells us about Asia’s economic ties.
Australian energy diplomacy
Implemented correctly, Australia could achieve some of its foreign policy goals through its energy exports.
Island diplomacy: a storm in the Maldives
A recent election could shift the power balance between China and India in the Indian Ocean.
Pakistan: indebted to China, Saudi Arabia, and IMF
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Kahn slammed the IMF during his election campaign and then sought a bailout - why?
Aid links: plastic ban, celebrity ties, and more
Japan stops aid to China, what happened to Millennium Villages, and other stories from the development sector.
India’s Arctic energy partnership with Russia
The enduring ties between Moscow and New Delhi have expanded again – in billions of ways.
Vietnam: why blogger Mother Mushroom went free
Hanoi has released a prominent blogger, who'd been jailed on propaganda charges, on the condition she leave for the US.
Friends like these … allies and the Pence speech
The US may have to adjust its goals and means to obtain full allied support for its China policy, and what about Trump?
Europe: Merkel, May, and Moscovici
This month's election in Bavaria is yet another sign of Europe in disarray.
Vietnam’s quandary: red or green?
Vietnam is caught between Chinese rocks and a climate change hard place – and looks to partners like Australia for help.
Canada and Huawei: letting politics slip in
Canada's decision to allow Huawei to participate in its 5G mobile networks is much more political than the PM suggests.
Chinese whispers and Pacific agency
Pacific island countries are well aware of strategic risks, and want the issues that worry them most to be in focus.
Thawing tensions in the Himalaya
Geopolitics are transforming this influential region politically, culturally, linguistically, and environmentally.
Weekend catch-up: Bougainville referendum and more
Hong Kong discontent, Fiji on the UNHRC and fighter aircraft duel (on Instagram): the week that was on The Interpreter.
European companies driven out of Iran
The US decision to re-impose nuclear sanctions on Iran has significant implications for European businesses.
Deciding the future for PNG’s provinces
Bougainville’s independence referendum is on the horizon. The prospect of autonomy in other provinces is also growing.
Killing Chimerica
“Decoupling” the deep economic entwinement with China is increasingly seen as vital to US security.
Is the second Trump-Kim summit necessary?
The more attention the world pays Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal, the less incentive it has to actually surrender weapons.
South Asia diplomacy hostage to a bitter legacy
Pakistan, India, Bangladesh – the neighbourhood just can’t seem to get along.
The geopolitics of China’s tax reforms
Any government – even in the People’s Republic – has to be wary about changing income tax rules.
Mahathir: Uighurs “have done nothing wrong”
Countries are struggling to navigate the issues – trying to please Beijing, the Uighurs, and respect human rights.
Beware of fighter pilots bearing gifts
A “dog fight” between a Russian and US jet, apparently over Syria, looks to be fake news.
Daylight robbery: cyber escapades of North Korea
Everyone knows Pyongyang’s criminal hackers are hard at work – but what nobody knows is how to stop them.
Pacific links: PNG, the fast and the furious, more
Sports cars for APEC, French Polynesia wants justice for nuclear tests, plus links from the Pacific islands region.
Japan’s complicated relationship with coal power
While banks back away from coal, political and safety concerns about nuclear power are pushing Tokyo towards it.
China: how big tech is learning to love the party
The Communist Party has cemented its presence in leading tech firms, heralding a new age for private companies.
Australia’s Israel-Palestine conflict
This is actually one of those rare issues in Australian foreign policy where the two major parties quite often disagree.
Fiji and human rights, the limits of influence
Why was a violator elected to a body responsible for protecting human rights?
Decoding the bombshell story for China
Right or wrong, claims Beijing hacked computer chips has accelerated a push to cut out China from US supply chains.