Mourning Cambodia’s press freedom
The media crackdown continues with the sacking of the country’s last independent newspaper editor.
Unexpected lessons on measuring power in Asia
The Lowy Institute Asia Power Index yields many surprising results.
Banks misbehaving everywhere
Huge fines for mistakes or malfeasance seem unlikely to change financial system as currently structured.
Soft-power dressing: China’s moment in the US
A rare chance to dress up political motives as a form of cultural appreciation.
Malaysia’s political treadmill
Mahathir Mohamad might be back on the campaign trail in opposition but this doesn’t appear to be an obstacle to the present government.
Aid links: budget time, poverty and brain power, more
Links and stories from the aid and development sector.
How political crisis in Armenia could upset Russia and Turkey in Syria
The future of a fragile ceasefire over an unresolved conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh could in turn have broad strategic implications.
French choreography in the Pacific
Emmanuel Macron’s visit to New Caledonia affirmed the territory as the jewel of French possessions.
Working with China in the Pacific
Development partners, and Pacific nations themselves, need to be better coordinated.
Trump–Kim summit: what’s in the venue?
Singapore, Panmanjom, Ulaanbataar, or anywhere else, deciding where the leaders meet will broadcast an important signal.
Weekend catch-up: the Iran deal, China’s United Front, and Remaking the Middle East
The week that was on The Interpreter.
Immigration links: Central American migrant caravan, Windrush, and more
Links and updates from across the migration and border policy field.
The language of cross-strait tensions
The Chinese military has released a propaganda video aimed at Taiwan recorded in Hokkien, a language widely discouraged in China.
Asia: jobs policy vs the machines
Only politicians can stem labour-market inequality arising from new technologies.
India’s struggle for the soul of the Indo-Pacific
New Delhi must gear up for a sustained struggle to ensure openness, transparency, and a healthy balance of power.
Star wars: Tamil actors enter India’s political fray
In cinema-crazy India, actors can easily be more popular than most politicians.
Pacific links: natural resources in PNG, Macron in the Pacific, and Samoan debt
Links and updates from across the Pacific islands.
Jolted by protectionist rhetoric, ASEAN focuses on trade
Southeast Asian nations want India to allow quick agreement on a regional trade deal.
Power of youth
The euphoria of 2011 may have disappeared, but the youth of the Middle East have not forgotten.
Pakistan’s war against the media
While media has helped bring down military dictatorship in Pakistan, it also amplifies hate against minorities in the country.
Iran’s May Day
President Trump’s deadline to decide on America’s role in the Iran Deal is drawing close.
Trump and “currency manipulation”
It is rare that free-market economists find themselves advocating the same policies as a president with a deal-by-deal attitude.
Trouble ahead
Frustrated expectations in the Middle East and a lack of economic opportunities are destabilising.
China: magic weapons and “plausible deniability”
Attention has understandably focused on the designs abroad of the United Front Work Department, yet more profound effects may be felt within China’s borders.
Aid links: microfinance for farms, religion, Facebook and the poor, more
Links and stories from the aid and development sector.
Decay and new growth
The Middle East lacks the frameworks needed to capitalise on green shoots of change.
India: death penalty for rape ignores justice failings
Imposing capital punishment is no fix for a chronic lack of trust in police and the courts.
The taming of the west
Australia needs to help build maritime governance in the Indian Ocean if it is to take advantage of opportunities on offer.
Weekend catch-up: the race for 5G, US Ambassador swap, and Australia–China relations
The week that was on The Interpreter.
Deciphering symbols at the inter-Korean summit
The subtle messages of the historic meeting go well beyond the words on paper.
Temper expectations for Britain’s “Pacific pivot”
Australia and New Zealand have far more at stake in the region than dollars and cents.
Clamorous response to a Silent Invasion
Instead of generating a sense of common concern, Clive Hamilton’s book could spark discord, sow the seeds of suspicion, and feed ingrained paranoia.
Immigration links: atolls at risk, French asylum bill, and more
Links and updates from across the migration and border policy field.
Review: Safeguarding Australia’s security interests through closer Pacific ties
James Batley says more attention should be paid to the role Pacific island countries play in regional security.
Rehabilitating Marawi
More than bricks and mortar, the Philippines needs to rebuild relations between the local community and the state.
Economic diplomacy brief: security costs, Japanese investment, and Chinese business relations
Greg Earl with economic news from across the region.
Beyond scandal: Facebook and Indonesian politics
More than a million Indonesian profiles are said to have been compromised in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Australia’s Chinese ballistic missile problem
China’s new islands and missiles have changed our regional strategic balance.
Pacific links: UK diplomacy, China–Vanuatu relations, and more
Links and updates from across the Pacific islands.
Harry Harris and the ambassadorial absence
Alliance sentimentalists are wrong to judge the entire heath of the US–Australia relationship through one diplomatic appointment.
Anzac Day and the matter of meaning
In modern and multicultural Australia, sustaining a tangible connection to a national day of remembrance poses a challenge.
Attack of the Twitter bots
A surge in social media followers across Asia has raised questions about self-censorship.
Britain’s new Pacific presence
The UK announced three new diplomatic posts in the Pacific, bringing a new voice to regional strategic discussions.
Kim Jong-un made Donald Trump an offer he couldn’t refuse
Plenty of attention has been paid to the perils of the likely US–North Korea summit, but little has been said about the risks Trump would have faced had he declined Pyongyang’s offer.
Less is more? Employment rates and economic growth
Labour market participation is a key factor in determining monetary policy.
Aid links: laptop failures, Indian justice, and Australian parsimony
Links and stories from the aid and development sector.
North Korea’s nuclear test freeze: practical as much as political
But “satellite” launches could disguise more missile tests.