21 hours ago
A Chinese invasion of Taiwan isn’t inevitable
The logistics pose a momentous challenge. And more so, Xi Jinping knows a war will entail enormous costs.
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1 Feb 2023
Indonesia gets the ball rolling on domestic worker rights
Jakarta’s call to legislate its informal workforce should be a model for all countries that receive migrant workers. -
30 Dec 2022
How to Interpret 2022: A Taiwan crisis
One of Asia’s flashpoints again tested regional relations, as well as analysts. -
18 Oct 2022
Will the three Ts tie India and Taiwan?
If New Delhi wants Taipei to help build supply chain security, it should expect Taiwan to ask for more political support. -
26 Sep 2022
Taiwan: Biden risks talking himself into a war he cannot win
The military balance is shifting China’s way, and half-abandoning a policy of strategic ambiguity won’t change that. -
20 Sep 2022
What does Biden mean on Taiwan?
When Washington doesn’t speak with one voice, its powers of strategic ambiguity are slowly chipped away. -
24 Aug 2022
What are the prospects for stability across the Taiwan Strait?
A democratic Taiwan has considerable agency and capacity to affect the dynamics of power in East Asia. -
19 Aug 2022
The social media spectacle of China’s Taiwan military exercises
The whole world’s a stage when it comes to promoting the power behind the “one China” narrative. -
17 Aug 2022
Why can’t Beijing renounce force against Taiwan?
History, nationalism, the Party, deterrence and the military make for a heady mix. -
16 Aug 2022
China’s Taiwan policy in the “new era”
Beijing’s latest white paper on Taiwan is a marked shift in tone from the more accommodating versions past. -
16 Aug 2022
What the Philippines has at stake in Taiwan
Strategic choices by Manila will matter to Washington and Beijing. -
9 Aug 2022
When serious, careful US management of China–Taiwan policies … isn’t
The status quo in the Strait has changed. But is anyone really tuning in as the drama unfolds? -
2 Aug 2022
Will Pelosi’s trip trigger the next Taiwan crisis?
The speaker has a long history of standing against Beijing. But Asia’s balance of military power has changed. -
30 Jun 2022
Australians worry about China and muscle-flexing over Taiwan
New polling shows Beijing and its intentions have overtaken climate, Covid and cyberattacks as major concerns. -
28 Jun 2022
Contingency plans: South Korea and cross-Strait security
Seoul’s new administration faces critical choices over Taiwan and its relationships with Washington and Beijing. -
25 Jan 2022
China’s new reality
Forget geopolitics and military muscle flexing. Reality TV is where Beijing and Taipei can put aside their differences. -
23 Dec 2021
Myths that stir trouble in the South China Sea
A major shipping route, yes, but vital? False claims about the value of these waters only make diplomacy harder. -
24 Nov 2021
Paul Keating may be the “Grand Appeaser”, but is he wrong?
The lessons of history are many and few are simple. Empty threats can be just as damaging to a country’s reputation. -
29 Oct 2021
The legal case for defending Taiwan
If a narrow interpretation of international law saw China attack Taiwan, a League of Nations-style crisis would ensue. -
14 Oct 2021
Would a war over Taiwan be legal?
International law defines statehood and provides the rules of war, but ambiguities abound in the case of Taiwan. -
6 Oct 2021
Chinese warplanes overhead Taiwan (or maybe not)
Multi-aircraft flights – some at night – signal a growing sophistication. But there are still limits. -
13 Aug 2021
Taiwan: The age-old question of who gets a vote
A proposal to lower the voting age to 18 leaves the electorate surprisingly apprehensive – even younger Taiwanese. -
5 Aug 2021
“I am a Taiwanese”: Eastern Europeans see a Cold War in East Asia
Memories of life under authoritarianism forge ties between Taiwan and a growing number of Eastern European states. -
13 Jul 2021
Taipei’s growing legion of friends
There’s serious regional clout behind Taiwan’s goal of peace and stability. -
1 Jul 2021
Sweet and sour: Taiwan’s pork and pineapple battles
Nationalist consumer sentiment has become a decisive factor in Taiwan’s food bans with the US and China. -
29 Jun 2021
Hsinchu: Taiwan’s city at the centre of China’s conundrum
Semiconductors are the drivers of the digital economy. The US needs them. So does China. And Taiwan makes the most. -
30 Apr 2021
Taiwan: Renewing a southbound vision
Increasing economic ties with Southeast Asia has been a success for Tsai Ing-wen. She should look beyond to India, too. -
1 Apr 2021
Closer Taiwan-US ties are stabilising the region, not the opposite
Displays of solidarity for Taiwan won’t contain Beijing’s ambition, but US support must factor in its thinking. -
2 Nov 2020
Taiwan: Rising stakes for Australia
America’s policy of “strategic ambiguity” is being hotly contested, but multilateralism might offer a fresh approach. -
30 Sep 2020
The unfinished Chinese civil war
Many frame China’s options against Taiwan as peace or invasion. This is a dangerous oversimplification. -
17 Jul 2020
Taiwan tiptoes in cross-strait relations
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen has carefully navigated Beijing’s bullying and wishful thinking about Washington. -
9 Jul 2020
The semiconductor industry is where politics gets real for Taiwan
These tiny strategic products can profoundly change the world as the US and China fight over the brains of electronics. -
19 Jun 2020
COVIDcast: Foreign Minister Joseph Wu on Taiwan’s place in the world
The latest episode in a podcast to discuss the implications of coronavirus for Australia, the region and the world. -
9 Apr 2020
WHO and China: Compounding politics and policy
The World Health Organization has been heavily criticised for appeasing China instead of leading the Covid-19 fight. -
15 Jan 2020
Taiwan voters reject Beijing, but not populism
Tsai Ing-wen’s party used fear of Beijing to see off a weak opponent. She’ll have much to prove during her second term. -
7 Jan 2020
The absurdity shaping Taiwan’s presidential elections
The country that isn’t a country might one day reunify with the PRC, of which it was never a part. That’s just a start. -
29 Nov 2019
Taiwan embraces Southeast Asian migrant workers, one book at a time
A bookstore in New Taipei aims to bring a little piece of home to new migrants and help locals connect to the region. -
11 Oct 2019
For China, “national reunification” with Taiwan remains a dream
Xi Jinping regularly invokes “one country, two systems” to unite China and Taiwan, yet wins little support. -
19 Sep 2019
China-Taiwan: Solomon Islands’ switch and a “new normal”
Should the US and Australia really be surprised that Pacific nations see China filling a vacuum? -
12 Sep 2019
The wisdom of Solomons: Taiwan and China’s Pacific power play
Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare offers an insight on the whys and why nots of diplomatic recognition. -
29 Jul 2019
Can Taiwan’s President fend off a populist wave?
<p>The next election is cast as a Clinton v Trump-like contest between a breezy populist and “adult in the room”.</p> -
10 Jul 2019
Hong Kong sets an example to push Taiwan even further from China
<p>Taiwan’s close watch on Hong Kong has only firmed its opposition to Beijing’s “one country, two systems”.</p> -
31 May 2019
The importance of Taiwan’s diplomatic partners in Oceania
With the China challenge in the Pacific, Australia and the US could work together to help Taiwan preserve regional ties. -
30 May 2019
Taiwan’s gay marriage law victory not an obvious win for its President
<p>Passage of a historic law is unlikely to bolster Tsai Ing-wen in her struggle at the ballot box.</p> -
9 May 2019
Taiwan’s tense politics on the international fault line
Beijing hovers with building pressure as the jostling ahead of Taiwan’s next presidential election ramps up. -
2 May 2019
The high seas danger to workers in Taiwan’s fishing fleet
Alleged killings, fisherman lost and punishing work hours leave Taiwan’s lucrative fishing industry at risk of sanction. -
29 Apr 2019
Tsai wins US sympathy, but what about Taiwan’s voters?
Taiwan’s President portrays herself as the only reliable choice against an assertive China. -
18 Mar 2019
Diplomatic switch? Solomon Islands relations with Taiwan or China
<p>Honiara might break with Taipei after the April election, and may not be the last in a tug of war with Beijing.</p> -
5 Feb 2019
Not only China, Tsai Ing-wen must master the politics of pork
The agricultural lobby is making trouble for Taiwan’s president, yet tackling vested interests might be key to winning. -
8 Jan 2019
Taiwan: Tsai Ing-wen’s battle to discipline the DPP
The Taiwanese president struggles to get the green light for DPP leadership in the 2020 presidential elections.