3 Jul 2023
China’s answer to Top Gun is a flat spin
Hardly the touted blockbuster, Born To Fly is more dreary vanity flight than rousing nationalist paean.
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27 Jun 2023
China’s double wedge against efforts to foster Vietnam-US relations
Just as Beijing seeks to coerce Hanoi in the South China Sea, it warns about Washington’s intentions closer to home. -
27 Jun 2023
Mongolia in the middle: China and Russia may split over the allure of renewables
With an abundance of solar and wind power, the landlocked East Asian country is set to impact Sino-Russian relations. -
26 Jun 2023
After the meltdown: Sri Lanka’s strategic options
With its economic and political crisis in the rear-view mirror, Colombo has the chance to reposition itself regionally. -
23 Jun 2023
Perceptions and trust: Chinese views of Canada and Australia amid geopolitical tensions
New data reveals lingering resentments as well as ongoing opportunities. -
20 Jun 2023
Is the Gorkha’s place in India’s history about to change?
A new scheme for Nepalese recruits breaks a 75-year tradition and is straining relations between the two countries. -
16 Jun 2023
Does China wield excessive influence in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank?
A dramatic resignation this week has put a spotlight on the functions of Beijing’s brainchild. -
15 Jun 2023
It’s time for South Korea to refocus on multilateral diplomacy
A new national security strategy stresses values-based diplomacy, but that can’t be at the expense of talking to China. -
13 Jun 2023
Shangri-La: A missed chance for US–China dialogue
But at least both sides recognised that the outbreak of a conflict would be “unbearable”. -
8 Jun 2023
Economic diplomacy: Duelling D-words to delineate China
Australia seems to be treading carefully around the G7’s agreement to de-risk dependence on the region’s biggest economy. -
8 Jun 2023
PNG’s trade ties with China are set to strengthen
Canberra has committed to bolstering agriculture assistance, but free trade agreements may leave Australia in second place. -
6 Jun 2023
US-China: A Cold War lesson to apply “rules of the road” at sea
Soviet and American warships had a code to prevent dangerous encounters and the US and China should have the same. -
1 Jun 2023
Full steam ahead for the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway?
After a long haul already, there is still a journey ahead for a new route to connect China and Europe via Central Asia. -
26 May 2023
Explaining China’s Central Asia pivot
Beijing’s ambition with its western neighbours is more about heading off US influence than a quest to dominate. -
18 May 2023
Why the WHO needs Taiwan
Taiwan’s early warning and pandemic response should be offered as a model to the world, not hostage to China’s whim. -
17 May 2023
Europe’s divisions over China could hamper G-7 unity
If European capitals, Brussels, and Washington are not aligned, immediate economic interests will overshadow common, long-term goals. -
15 May 2023
Foreign policy China-style: beyond protocol and alcohol
Southeast Asian nations are realising that forming balancing coalitions will be their best bet in dealing with Beijing. -
15 May 2023
China to the rescue, with peace plans for Saudi, Iran, Russia, Ukraine and Afghanistan – up to a point
These diplomatic gambits all carry a message. But conflict resolution isn’t necessarily the main one. -
11 May 2023
The disproportionate attention on the Solomons-China security pact
A tendency to “securitise” problems via a geopolitical lens only downplays legitimate aspirations of local communities. -
9 May 2023
Hydro-hegemon? Complexities of shared rivers between China and India
Alarm about China building dams upstream of Brahmaputra River must be tempered by India’s own record on water-sharing. -
9 May 2023
“Play defence” in any collective response to China’s economic coercion
The cost of fighting back is unlikely to be spread evenly across any coalition, which risks undermining the effort. -
5 May 2023
Indonesia’s dilemma as China pushes a “Global Security Initiative”
Existing regional mechanisms can accommodate diverse interests in Southeast Asia without the need for a new forum. -
2 May 2023
What price will Laos need to pay to be saved, and will China pay it?
The debt-burdened Southeast Asian nation offers China a chance to recast its reputation. -
26 Apr 2023
The two big flaws in Penny Wong’s talk of deterrence over Taiwan
It’s wishful thinking to dismiss debate on the most difficult and important foreign policy question as a “parlour game”. -
26 Apr 2023
Quad should ask ASEAN to a diplomatic dance
For all the talk of hedging, Southeast Asian nations have long worried about China’s ambition to dominate the region. -
19 Apr 2023
Hugh White on the choice facing Penny Wong
How long can the Foreign Minister talk of a multipolar order in Asia in a government working to bolster US strategic primacy? -
13 Apr 2023
Economic diplomacy: Counting the cost of decoupling
US-China tensions are disrupting economic links for other countries as new forecasts of slow growth make change harder. -
13 Apr 2023
Taiwan: Far from lost in translation, Macron said exactly what he meant
The French President’s comments are the latest example of his consistent call for Europe to set its own path. -
12 Apr 2023
Australia’s delicate dance with the United States and China
Could Canberra’s deft management of its Beijing relationship influence policy in Washington? -
12 Apr 2023
What does China want in Ukraine?
Beijing has reservations about Putin’s war, but seeing Moscow take a beating is not in China’s interests. -
11 Apr 2023
Russia foreign policy: the search for new friends
Shunned by the West, Moscow is wooing the rest of the world. And so far it’s finding success. -
6 Apr 2023
China is its own worst enemy
Xi’s belligerence prompts classic balancing, an alignment among smaller states that would alone struggle to compete. -
4 Apr 2023
Indonesia-China: a smart city can make for clever politics
With a new capital to build, Indonesia can benefit from directing Chinese investment. -
31 Mar 2023
Great power rivalry is poisoning multilateralism
With India in summit season, New Delhi is banking on minilateral partnerships to counter China’s hegemonic ambitions. -
30 Mar 2023
Climate change, ironically, reduces the heat in the South China Sea
The days for oil and gas are numbered, so the economic case of a fight over undersea resources doesn’t stack up. -
29 Mar 2023
China’s food dilemma
The push for a “Food Silk Road” is telling of the superpower’s vulnerability – environmental and geopolitical. -
28 Mar 2023
China trumpets the Saudi-Iran deal, yet much credit goes to Pakistan
A little-heralded meeting in Islamabad set the stage for two arch rivals to set aside differences. -
28 Mar 2023
India’s delicate dance with the Taliban
With Afghanistan’s China pivot proving disappointing, the Islamist group is reprising its relationship with New Delhi. -
24 Mar 2023
A Catch-22 for India’s tech ambitions
With Russian supply chains under stress, New Delhi explores indigenous capabilities. -
22 Mar 2023
AUKUS commits Australia to fight China if America does, simple
Whatever the flag, Washington would not sell nuclear-powered boats unless it could count on them in war over Taiwan. -
20 Mar 2023
Australia, China, AUKUS and the squandered advantage
Canberra appears to have overlooked the tyranny of distance as its chief asset in regional military deterrence. -
17 Mar 2023
Is a stable Afghanistan where China, Russia and the US cooperate?
Three of the world’s most influential powers have skin in the game when it comes to preventing another civil war. -
16 Mar 2023
Economic diplomacy: unlocked Laos looks for new links
The once isolated and landlocked nation has become an unlikely partner in Australia’s latest push into the region. -
14 Mar 2023
Will China really funnel weapons to Russia through Belarus?
With war on his doorstep, the Belarusian president is juggling Beijing and Moscow to reap the benefits of geography. -
8 Mar 2023
Beijing and the birth rate: a question of human rights for women
Despite the government's gender positive rhetoric, Chinese women are still viewed as resources of the party state. -
23 Feb 2023
Chinese interference is dangerous – but also often ineffective and counterproductive
Understanding Beijing’s failures now is crucial ahead of a time when efforts to shape opinion are more sophisticated. -
22 Feb 2023
Wang Yi’s fruitless diplomacy in Europe
Beijing misunderstands that Russia’s war in Ukraine – and China’s failure to condemn it – has vastly changed views. -
15 Feb 2023
Balloon goes up for Washington’s “decisive decade”
Matching it with Beijing will take far more attention than the United States has so far devoted. -
15 Feb 2023
Reset in US–Philippines relations tells of yet another China fumble
The 180-degree reversal in Manila’s foreign policy was a consequent evolution of the previous regime’ approach. -
10 Feb 2023
The Maldives: geopolitics of Chinese tourism
With a presidential election set for September, Maldivian candidates need to balance the economy and Beijing.