If India does not move to protect its equities, South Asia could soon fall under the sway of China's rapidly expanding maritime power.

In recent years China has demonstrated its ability to divide Europeans by creating new entities such as the 16+1 mechanism.

Regardless of whether Australian forces are enlisted in any anti-Iran campaign, there is a risk that our troops, aircraft or ships in the Middle East may find themselves targeted in any Iranian retaliation.

Perhaps practical policy-makers might be tempted to cut the Gordian knot by imposing capital controls, especially for short-term volatile capital inflows (leaving characteristically-stable foreign direct investment untouched).

Xi Jinping’s 'Asia for Asians' slogan may ultimately come to fruition.

One should also be wary of using the result to forecast Iranian policy direction given the circumscribed powers of the president.

Australia can attempt to define its engagement with the initiative while it is still early days, or it can stick to playing by rules written by others.

It remains to be seen whether this new phase of ties between the Gulf states and Israel can expand beyond the informal and the unofficial level.

This vote for Rouhani sends a clear message to the Supreme Leader’s office that Iranians want economic prosperity brought about by peaceful re-engagement.

The Belt and Road Forum, what to make of Trump and Russia, a new refugee programme, and more.

Recent infrastructure developments in the Philippines and Malaysia suggest our Belt and Road expectations should be reined in.

By taking on the FBI, Trump looks like repeating Nixon’s Watergate actions in ways that should truly alarm him – and hearten his opponents.

In the unprecedented chaos that is the Trump presidency, the apparent swing back towards Saudi Arabia seems abnormally normal.

The Chinese Government took its digital diplomacy to a new level this month in order to promote One Belt One Road.

This week's links include private sponsorship plans in Australia, the increased rate of US federal immigration arrests, immigration in the UK election, and concerns about a growing slave trade.

It’s easy to overlook an event that perhaps offers Turnbull his best shot at his own regional legacy this term – the summit of Southeast Asian leaders in Sydney next March.

Erdogan was forced to concede on almost everything, even withstanding Trump’s repeated mispronunciation of his name during the press conference.

The snub demonstrates Beijing now has another diplomatic tool in its arsenal.

Most of the most serious consequences have occurred not because of Trump’s actions. But as a result of leaks from within the US intelligence community and the White House.

The drama reflects one of China's truths: it relies on the moral compasses of Party bureaucrats to fight corruption rather than a robust legal system.

Demolition work will soon begin at the Manus Island detention centre while an economist urges PNG's politicians to consider the informal economy in the run up to the election.

President Trump doesn’t quite seem to appreciate the need for a nuanced approach to managing competing international obligations.

WHO’s survival will depend on the incoming DG's ability to improve its reputation and raise core funding from national governments, particularly the US.

Private sponsorship and other pathways should be in addition, not an alternative, to existing refugee places provided by governments.

Too many trade negotiators share the Trump mindset, counting success in terms of how many export-promoting elements are embodied in these bilateral and plurilateral FTAs.

Washington has repeatedly signalled to Tehran that the days of the Obama détente are a thing of the past.

'This is an incredibly interesting but also challenging time for Australia's Vietnamese diaspora.'

Though it was clear that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would not be attending, China expected at least a ministerial level summit participation from India.

In China and beyond, BRI mobilises diverse agents to participate in trans-boundary and networked governance arrangements, indirectly seeding state transformation in other jurisdictions and territories.

Abrupt swings in policy direction in Asia are detracting from already diminished stocks of US trust and credibility.

The question is whether Republicans will find the political will to act on what the media expose re Trump, members of his administration, and Russia.

McCully seemed to understand how far the US relationship could be taken without serious questions being raised about New Zealand’s foreign policy independence.

Macron's victory, what the 2017 budget means for aid, defence and DFAT, Hizbut Tahrir and more.

Well-resourced journalism is undoubtedly necessary to inform the public about domestic issues, but are foreign correspondents equally necessary?

A third party in Myanmar would reduce the odds of a resurgent military in the post-Aung San Suu Kyi era.

An unclear policy framework, resistance to community housing expansion, and refugees being unsupported and unable to work continue to impede progress.

Authoritative news, delivered to mobile phones, could be a stabilising influence in an era characterised by destabilising external forces.

We need to think about Syrian women not only as victims of violence but also as as significant partners in the quest to bring about a resolution to conflict.

Migration policy and the UK election, the potential cost of modern visa regimes, and Australian budget analysis.

Shen Zhihua’s remarks and the response on Weibo are just one aspect of a broader discussion over China’s posture towards the Korean Peninsula.

Pakistan’s economic prospects are clouded by the precarious future of its most critical asset - its young people.

The Australian Budget has been released and foreign aid spending has been cut again, but funding for Papua New Guinea and the Pacific remains largely unchanged.

Two back-to-back decisions have left Indonesia more religiously polarised than ever. One was politically inept, the second deeply unjust. Both may come back to haunt the Jokowi government.

There’s not much joy in the 2017 budget for Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, for Australia’s international engagement, or for DFAT’s long-suffering staff.

It's clear that public support isn’t enough for a government that does not view aid as an election issue.

‘Whoever is uprooted themselves,’ wrote Simone Weil, ‘uproots others.’ France will not be a happier country five years from now if the only legacy of a Macron presidency is further uprooting.

In 1997 blame for the Asian crisis was sheeted home to incompetent and often-corrupt leadership. This book gives a different and more accurate explanation.

Less than a quarter of those surveyed thought that the US-China relations would be friendly, cooperative or cordial in the next 12 months

The stakes are so high for the London Conference this week that we dare not fail.

One of the significant growth areas in the Commonwealth sector over the years since 9/11 has been the disproportionate increase in the number of highly-paid senior managers.