Current Issue
AFA17 - February 2023Girt by China
Power play in the Pacific
“A Chinese force in the South Pacific could isolate Australia in a future region-wide crisis or conflict, cutting access to its ally the United States – just as Japan sought to do in the Pacific War.” RORY MEDCALF
The seventeenth issue of Australian Foreign Affairs examines the growing rivalry and increasing tension in the Pacific as it becomes a stage for a great-power contest to gain influence and a strategic position in the region.
Girt by China looks at the challenges for Canberra as it seeks to strengthen ties with Pacific island countries and to counter moves by China to extend its reach into the waters off northern Australia.
• Rory Medcalf analyses China's increasing presence in the Pacific and calls for Australia to coordinate an international effort to ensure the region is not dominated by Beijing.
• David Kilcullen explores the military ambitions of China in the Pacific and the implications for neighbouring countries, including Australia.
• Peter Connolly examines how China has built economic, political and security ties in Melanesia to pursue strategic goals in the Pacific.
• Dorothy Wickham explains the political realities and domestic concerns of Solomon Islanders as their country finds itself in the middle of a geopolitical tussle.
• Vafa Ghazavi outlines a plan for Australia to help put an end to global corruption.
PLUS Correspondence on AFA16: The Return to the West from Shiro Armstrong, John Quiggin, David Olsson and more.
ABOUT THE EDITOR
Jonathan Pearlman is the editor of Australian Foreign Affairs and the world editor of The Saturday Paper. He is a correspondent for The Straits Times newspaper (Singapore) and was Australia–Pacific correspondent for The Telegraph (UK). He previously worked at The Sydney Morning Herald, covering foreign affairs and politics from Canberra and Sydney.
Australia is increasingly affected by events beyond its borders, especially as global power and wealth shifts towards Asia. The challenges facing Australia and the region are varied and complex, but they are also fascinating. There is a strong need and appetite for a publication that explores these challenges and debates the ways Australia should respond.
— Jonathan Pearlman, Editor, Australian Foreign Affairs
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Next Issue
AFA18 - July 2023We Need to Talk about America
An Alliance in Flux
The next issue of Australian Foreign Affairs examines Australia’s evolving ties with the United States as the power balance in Asia changes and as Washington continues to face bitter domestic divides.
We Need to Talk about America looks at the future of the alliance in an era in which the US’s global role and stature – which once seemed so constant – are becoming less stable and less certain.
Essays include:
- Brothers in arms: Why the alliance is making Australia less safe
- Shaky ground: Can the US alliance survive China and MAGA?
- Freedom fight: Why the world still needs a strong United States
- The view from America: Australia, Uncle Sam needs you
PLUS correspondence, The Fix, and more
