22 Jul 2020
A nervous watch on the Three Gorges Dam
Extensive flooding is testing one of the world‘s megaprojects – and China’s reputation for high-quality infrastructure.
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22 Jul 2020
Is Huawei in the UK a canary in the coalmine?
Britain’s 5G ban shows that political risk must be priced into commercial calculations as the world considers value. -
20 Jul 2020
Social credit: The next China risk for Australian business
Continuous monitoring via technology raises numerous questions and will bring unforeseen consequences. -
17 Jul 2020
COVIDcast: Malcolm Turnbull on geopolitics and the pandemic
The latest episode in a podcast to discuss the implications of coronavirus for Australia, the region and the world. -
17 Jul 2020
The obstacles to Syrian aid
Russia and China have used the Security Council to squelch cross-border humanitarian assistance. It’s time for options. -
15 Jul 2020
Twisting India’s Chicken’s Neck
The Siliguri Corridor in north-eastern India poses a major defence challenge. -
14 Jul 2020
Obstacles remain for Pakistan dam backed by China
The Diamer-Bhasha dam project faces high costs, territorial disputes and community opposition. -
13 Jul 2020
The brakes on Beijing’s ambition
While we prepare for the worst, myriad reasons suggest that China’s rise is not as inevitable as often assumed. -
10 Jul 2020
India-China conflict: A move from the Himalayas to the high seas?
A risky naval blockade in the Indian Ocean is touted by some as a way to pressure China’s vital energy routes. -
10 Jul 2020
Keeping the Kremlin in the Kelvinator
A flurry of enthusiasm to re-engage Russia speaks more to Western insecurities than future power dynamics in East Asia. -
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. -
9 Jul 2020
India’s dilemma: Neither strategic nor autonomous
The long-desired aim of strategic autonomy is still far away. And confrontation with China is much closer. -
7 Jul 2020
Yes, to balance China, let’s bring Russia in from the cold
The West’s isolation of Russia has helped Moscow acquiesce in an expanded Chinese presence it would once have resented. -
7 Jul 2020
China eyes African prospects to iron out trade tension with Australia
Investing in largely untapped iron ore sources in Africa might be Beijing’s answer to diversifying import sources. -
7 Jul 2020
The economics of national security in Hong Kong
China’s new Hong Kong legislation shows how national security has become a part of the state’s economic arsenal. -
2 Jul 2020
Hong Kong: The finishing blow
The new legislation marks the completion of Beijing’s total control and surveillance of every quarter of the PRC. -
2 Jul 2020
Economic diplomacy: Diversification dilemmas
China, India and Australia are all dealing with the costs and risks of reshoring. -
1 Jul 2020
India’s TikTok stars collateral damage in Chinese app ban
The move signals that decades of appeasement towards China by a succession of Indian leaders is coming to an end. -
1 Jul 2020
Canada won’t fall for China’s hostage diplomacy
Releasing Meng Wanzhou wouldn’t raise Canada’s standing with China. Worse, it would betray its closest partner. -
1 Jul 2020
After ASEAN summit, little change on the South China Sea
Despite expectations leaders might collectively rebuke China for its latest actions, the message was more uncertain. -
30 Jun 2020
China’s pipeline dream in Pakistan
The plan to transport oil across the Himalayas is a logistical nightmare. Post-Covid economics will make it even harder. -
29 Jun 2020
Solomon Islands gets a lesson in Chinese diplomacy
Thanking Taiwan for aid during the Covid-19 pandemic clashes with the One China policy – at home and in Beijing. -
29 Jun 2020
China’s charmless offensive
The shine has come off what was once seen as China’s deft ability to make friends and wield influence. -
25 Jun 2020
Book review: What’s holding China’s economy back?
The CCP’s discriminatory hukou system is a great obstacle to changing from world’s factory to a service-driven economy. -
22 Jun 2020
Australia should support India in the Himalayas
If Canberra wants a “comprehensive strategic partnership” with New Delhi, some courageous steps are needed. -
19 Jun 2020
Canberra vs Beijing: A response to Sam Roggeveen
Contrarian views are needed to assess the China risk. And we shouldn’t assume this century will be indisputably China’s. -
19 Jun 2020
Lessons from the India-China border clashes
China has effectively signalled a new phase in its territorial strategy, which should give Indo-Pacific watchers pause. -
19 Jun 2020
Belt and Road means big data and facial recognition, too
China is exporting the same social control technology it employs to monitor its own population. -
18 Jun 2020
India-China: Pressure at altitude
A shocking fight in Galwan Valley leaves India with dangerous choices, while China thinks it has an upper hand. -
17 Jun 2020
Canberra vs Beijing: A reply to Alan Dupont
We can’t base plans for the future on a chance China may fail. We are yet to internalise how successful it may be. -
16 Jun 2020
The geopolitical consequences of a pandemic
A global system in flux – from the US to Hong Kong, in politics as much as the economy – ultimately needs leadership. -
12 Jun 2020
COVIDcast: Xi Jinping and Covid-19
The latest episode in a podcast to discuss the implications of coronavirus for Australia, the region, and the world. -
11 Jun 2020
Hong Kong: What China stands to lose
Xi Jinping’s attempted show of strength in Hong Kong only serves to betray his weakness in Beijing. -
11 Jun 2020
China toys with a new propaganda technique: Irony
The already reductive US-China spat has now been turned into an actual cartoon, in an earnest bid for foreign sympathy. -
9 Jun 2020
The case for Australian strategic ambiguity
Loyalty has its place. But being a more uncertain ally can make you a better friend. -
9 Jun 2020
The gravity of China’s space base in Argentina
What the South American country stands to gain from the deal is something of a mystery. -
5 Jun 2020
New Zealand and China: Contending with words and actions
Wellington has a strong history in relations with Beijing, a record that will help in adapting to new complications. -
5 Jun 2020
Central Asian nations want to kick-start the BRI – and China is happy
Covid-19 has spurred rumours and local tensions, but economic fortunes of the region are increasingly bound to Beijing. -
4 Jun 2020
China and Japan’s island dispute
The issue is not whether Beijing would want to challenge Tokyo over the islands. The question is when, and how? -
3 Jun 2020
US break with WHO: Where does it leave the rest of the world?
Honest assessment of the Covid-19 response will require cooperation from all member states. There is no alternative. -
1 Jun 2020
The local cost of rising India-China tensions
The recent territorial disputes in the Himalaya have a long history. They also imperil the future of a fragile place. -
29 May 2020
The Trump card in the Sino-Indian rivalry?
The US President’s offer to mediate a “big conflict” at Ladakh is a little more public than India is used to. -
27 May 2020
Another pearl in China’s string?
Plans in Cambodia for a massive tourist resort on an out-of-the way island don‘t add up and may serve a different goal. -
26 May 2020
Hong Kong: System override
Beijing’s proposed new national security law raises the stakes of pro-democracy protests. -
22 May 2020
Getting back to harvest: The way forward after China’s barley tariff
Australian growers are effectively banned from a huge market. But details of the decision show how it may be reversed. -
22 May 2020
The battle for a Covid vaccine risks losing the “war”
A quest to find the “magic bullet” is drawing dangerous political lines. Without cooperation, nobody wins. -
21 May 2020
The tangled web of India-China relations
Strained ties with Washington are driving Beijing to reach out to New Delhi. But the gap is wide. -
18 May 2020
The false dichotomy at the heart of Australia’s China debate
The conventional wisdom emerging around “sovereignty” vs “surrender” may be more foolish than wise. -
15 May 2020
Covid contest in Indian Ocean region: India, China jostle for top spot
Beijing’s Belt and Road could get very expensive indeed, with cash New Delhi will find hard to match. -
13 May 2020
In beef over barley, Chinese economic coercion cuts against the grain
Beijing has become adept at punishing countries with legally “dressed up” informal economic sanctions.