This Month
- Analysis
- AUKUS
Senior US diplomat lets the AUKUS cat out of the bag
US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell has spelt out publicly the expectations Washington has of Australia to fight alongside it in the Taiwan straits.
- Analysis
- Middle East tensions
On NATO’s 75th birthday, old certainties are gone
For Washington and all its allies, the anniversary should involve difficult thinking about ends and means.
March
China turns on the charm with Australia. What’s behind the change?
Whether the new “balance” is truly bipartisan remains to be seen, as Canberra and Beijing still have serious questions to discuss.
- Updated
- Analysis
- Political leadership
Trump’s attack on Rudd a total beat-up
Ambassador Rudd is not the first to face the snarl of Trump’s contempt, nor will he be the last.
- Analysis
- China relations
Will Australia get China’s Silver Fox or the brusque nationalist?
The government has already decided the visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is another notch in stabilising relations with Beijing. But is “stabilisation” becoming an empty shibboleth?
- Updated
- Opinion
- Foreign relations
It’s time Wong squarely confronted Australia’s foreign dilemma
The problem is that neither the foreign minister, nor any political figure or official in the federal government, will speak frankly about the US alliance.
- Analysis
- ASEAN
Sense of urgency as Australia finds its true international identity
There is a meaning to be extracted from the ASEAN summit for Australia’s international identity.
- Analysis
- ASEAN
South-East Asia signals it won’t be picked off by China
A tick of approval from one of Asia’s most respected statesmen for AUKUS was just one positive sign from the ASEAN summit.
- Analysis
- ASEAN
The first day of this summit exposes the gulf at ASEAN
The first day of the ASEAN-Australia summit offered a classic illustration of the existing gulf in regional diplomatic cultures and approaches.
- Opinion
- ASEAN
It’s a mistake to think about ASEAN in binary terms
It is unrealistic to think the outcome of this week’s summit will be the next step in Australia building a broader network of Asian allies against China.
- Updated
February
- Opinion
- Defence
Australia’s defence plans are a charade
The announcement on Australia’s new ships doesn’t pass the pub test. Like its predecessors, this government isn’t serious about the threat it consistently talks about.
- Opinion
- Russia-Ukraine war
The sad reality is that Ukraine is outgunned and outmanned
Strategic analysts were adamant either that Ukraine would fall or Russia would buckle. Two years later, neither has happened.
- Opinion
- Prabowo Subianto
History’s hand on Prabowo’s shoulder
The new president, steeped in Indonesian nationalism, is likely to hew closely to Joko Widodo’s middle path between the US and China.
- Analysis
- Dictators
Why are we talking ourselves into Armageddon?
Western leaders and commentators are increasingly talking of World War Three, but they may be overestimating the strengths of Russia, China and Iran.
- Analysis
- Indonesian election
Prabowo finally takes the office he has craved
The former military commander looks to have secured the Indonesian presidency – but will his time in office herald a new era for the country?
- Opinion
- US election
Trump rattles US alliance cages again
Canberra should reach out to Donald Trump not with gold-plated AUKUS submarine models but by restating why Australia’s defence matters to American security.
January
- Analysis
- Australia Day
Australia Day has always been controversial
It’s nothing new for the national holiday to be plagued by debates over its meaning and significance. Indeed, that’s become part and parcel of the day itself.
- Updated
- Opinion
- John Howard
Howard still ducks key Iraq question
Former prime minister John Howard has defended his record on committing Australia to the Iraq war. But we are no closer to fully understanding his reasons.
- Opinion
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Biden is running out of patience with Netanyahu
Bad blood between the Israeli prime minister and the US Democrats goes back a long way. The danger now is that Israel never escapes from the baleful Bibi era.
- Analysis
- US election
Donald Trump looks unstoppable as Republican nominee
The former president’s residual appeal suggests that he continues to tap a deep chord of disaffection over the nation’s direction.
