Malaysia: allowing students to find voice
After years of official limits, a healthy democracy in Malaysia needs to give students the space to discuss politics.
Weekend catch-up: the Koreas and the human side
Taiwan's diplomatic allies, Trump takes on Iran, and anti-gay laws in Singapore: The week that was on The Interpreter.
China’s aid: the image boost
Beijing seeks to polish its global brand through efforts in Africa and a willingness to cooperate, but more is needed.
Spilt milk: protecting exports during drought
Helping Australian dairy farmers in hard times is a job for insurance, not subsidies that could have international cost.
Can small island nations of the Pacific survive?
Independence, dependence, or interdependence – the challenges for micro-countries are growing as populations move.
The human side of Moon and Kim’s agreement
A declaration this week is cause for cautious optimism, but little for human rights advocates to celebrate.
The crowded skies of Syria
Another plane destroyed shows despite a three-year intervention, Russian commanders don’t always know what they should.
Climate change, at the frontlines
Pacific islands have declared climate change the “single greatest threat” to security, a significant shift in language.
The other Rohingya crisis
Away from Bangladesh, another danger may be brewing for the Rohingya refugees, those who fled to India.
The fight to repeal anti-gay laws in Singapore
The movement to repeal a colonial era ban is gaining momentum, despite the skewed social and political playing field.
Pacific links: polio in PNG, farm visa delay, more
How logging puts women at risk in Solomon Islands, ADB outreach, Nauru’s future, and other links from the region.
Korean peninsula and the Moon-shot
Talks rest on South Korea’s Moon Jae-in persuading the US and North Korea to join a “declaration-for-declaration” deal.
Taiwan: the lonely winter
China aims to cut Taiwan off from Japan, as well as backing from the Vatican, to ensure the island is out in the cold.
The third Moon-Kim summit: uncertainties abound
Moon Jae-in is attempting to mediate between Washington and Pyongyang, while his personal approval plummets at home.
Myanmar: media stranglehold
Two Reuters journalists languish in jail – yet global condemnation has not moved Aung San Suu Kyi.
The case for a foreign aid tsar
Creating a high-profile position with sole responsibility for the aid program would help balance competing priorities.
China’s arms trade: a rival for global influence?
While a challenge to US influence in Asia, Beijing’s ambitions for military sales in Africa look to driven by dollars.
Trump to take on Iran at UN Security Council table
Blasting the Islamic Republic is low-hanging fruit for an embattled President to please his base ahead of midterms.
America First, in space
Despite new policy moves, the Trump administration's space policy is poorly defined and could stoke conflict.
Weekend catch-up: China’s Xinjiang province & more
Politics and Australian foreign policy, Vostok-18 and Jack Ma retires: the week that was on The Interpreter.
We already have an agricultural visa
Existing Pacific and Timor Leste programs already meet the labour needs of Australian farms – so why change?
Conspiracy and cronyism: Turkey’s economic spiral
Making sense of the Turkish economy means delving into the way Recep Tayyip Erdogan views the world.
Belt and Road: more than just a brand
Ambiguity is deliberate to the way BRI has been rolled out, but it has all signs of a gargantuan-scaled grand strategy.
The Sino-Russian entente
While a formal alliance is out of the question, the West for too long assumed Beijing and Moscow are fundamental rivals.
Where next, Jack Ma?
In Xi Jinping’s China, only one star shines most brightly, making times less friendly for charismatic business leaders.
Economic diplomacy: Japan, Indonesia and the TPP
A business venture only a few years ago seen as a herald for closer Australia-Japan ties has come crashing down.
What Canberra’s turmoil means for foreign policy
Scott Morrison’s new government shows considerable continuity in both personnel and approach for Australia in the world.
Explaining green and blue growth
Attaching an economic cost to natural resources might be one way to ensure they can be governed and managed sustainably.
China’s Muslim ban
Comparatively little global outrage has been raised about Beijing’s draconian and comprehensive control of Muslim life.
Aid links: Idlib and “humanitarian tragedy”, more
Dire warnings on Syria, The Great Leveller, plus links from the aid and development sector.
The pointy end for the Melanesian Spearhead Group
The forum has past success in mediating bitter disputes, but faces a sharp test with regional independence movements.
How Taiwan deters China – and can do better yet
Far from a “lost cause”, the Asia Power Index demonstrates the chance Taiwan has to strengthen its defence networks.
India’s navy: between carriers and patrol boats
The blue water ambition of India’s navy runs the risk of being diluted by constabulary duties closer to home.
PNG: new friend versus old, APEC and polio
Australia and China are playing out an aid-funded geostrategic dance, with Port Moresby the chosen venue.
China’s trans-Himalayan tango with Nepal
After Doklam, confrontation has given way to economic contest, and perhaps the real China-India rivalry is yet to start.
Political blackmail in the Taiwan-China contest
Countries with diplomatic ties to Taiwan are blackmailing Taipei before ditching ties in favour of Beijing.
Japan is back in the Bay of Bengal
Tokyo has long understood the Bay of Bengal and the South China Sea are the lynchpins that connect the Indo-Pacific.
Idlib – the (nearly) final frontier
Turkey seems to be in the weakest position in negotiations with Russia and Iran as the pressure on Idlib builds.
India-US: two plus two equals hopes and troubles
The growing American interest in India has led to optimism for future cooperation – but significant hurdles remain.
Weekend catch-up: China's tech bubble, and more
Mahathir redux, Russian military exercises and Taiwan's pacific allies: The week that was on The Interpreter.
Debating South Korea’s mandatory military service
An exemption from military service for a football star has brought global attention to a simmering social issue.
The James Ricketson trial
Watching court proceedings of a case marred by irregularities that in a country other than Cambodia might be thrown out.
Trump and rules-based order for global trade
Trump didn’t cause the problems, his presidency has just put them in the spotlight, without practical policy solutions.
China’s tech bubble
As debts mount and liquidity begins to dry up, it will soon become clear how much the growth of tech start-ups was fact.
Mahathir redux: the past guides the future
The legacy of his first stint as prime minister is shaping his second – history suggests Mahathir will remain a player.
The Rohingyas: a new terrorist threat?
There are no obvious signs refugees in squalid camps will turn to international violence – but it would only take a few.
The threat within: Pakistan’s ties to China
A suicide attack on a convoy of Chinese engines in Balochistan threatens to have far reaching economic consequences.
Pacific links: who talks, who walks, at the Forum
China-Taiwan tensions on display, journalist restrictions, and other stories from the Pacific islands region.
Lies, damn lies, and Chinese statistics
No one metric is ever going to be a good proxy for China, the place is just too complicated to be boiled down.
The Rohingya are stuck
Like the rest of us, the Rohingya need to have hope in a reasonable future for their children.