Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese is due to visit Manila this week to discuss defence and maritime security cooperation with Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The visit comes at an auspicious time. The two countries have increasingly been looking to cooperate on resisting China’s territorial and maritime claims in the South China …

Most South Koreans regard Australia as a true friend. During the Korean War (1950–53), Australia dispatched 17,164 soldiers to save South Korea from North Korea, reinforced by the “Red China” army, incurring 340 deaths. The legacy of this has been a values-based relationship between the two nations, ranging from partnerships in trade and investment …

Amid the intense rivalry between the United States and China in the Indo-Pacific, taking sides appears to be the new normal. Yet as middle powers and US allies, Thailand and Australia are resisting this new normal. Both have new governments which are seeking – where possible – to avoid choosing sides.

Thailand is now at a turning point …

For so long, Australia held the title of deputy sheriff in the Pacific region. The sheriff, the United States, had confidence that its deputy had the situation in the Pacific region under control. The US focused its attention elsewhere, particularly on the Middle East to address extremism and on East Asia to contain the rise of China. But the visit …

It is understandable that Australian leaders may feel insecure, even paranoid, about Australia’s future in the Asian twenty-first century. As Western power recedes from the world ­– especially from East Asia – Australia and New Zealand will be left stranded as lonely Western outposts in Asia.

But it’s fatal to find emotionally comfortable …

Japan’s new National Security Strategy (NSS), released in December, is a groundbreaking document that sets out plans to strengthen not only defence capabilities, but also diplomatic, economic, technological and intelligence capabilities. It aims at enabling Japan to create a new balance in the Indo-Pacific – a project likely to require crucial …

Australia and Vietnam have conducted a series of high-level meetings in recent months, as they try to cement a relationship that both now view as increasingly important.          

In June, Australia’s foreign minister, Penny Wong, visited Hanoi – her first trip to a South-East Asian country since taking office – and three months …

As neighbouring countries, Indonesia and Australia are bound to share the same security concerns, and this is true of the way they see the rise of China. But, while both countries agree that China poses a potential threat to regional peace, security and order, they differ in strategy. One is for containment, the other is for cooperation.

In …

Last week, the Australian government announced that it was seeking applicants for an Ambassador for First Nations People to head a new Office of First Nations Engagement within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). This follows the launch of DFAT’s Indigenous Diplomacy Agenda last year, which seeks to promote norms and standards that …

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, last week provided Vladimir Putin with his first opportunity to meet face-to-face with President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi since Russia invaded Ukraine. Putin may have been hoping for a continuation of the verbal, if not practical, support of Beijing and the …