The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is reshaping energy, governance and inequality across Asia and the Pacific. This three-part series examines the very different long and short term impacts across the region. (more…)
Category: World
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China on the way to being the first electro-state
China’s careful approach to ensuring its energy security is paying off, even as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz damages the global economy. (more…)
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War games behind the Iran Curtain
The US and UK governments continue to ignore their parliaments and public opinion, on the most important issue, going to war. Again Australia is on the wrong side. (more…)
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Putin and Trump can’t win
Believing in their military might, neither Putin nor Trump considered the consequences of their attacks on Ukraine and Iran. Now their wars are failing. (more…)
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Our intelligence services need to break free from excessive US influence
Australia is part of the white man’s intelligence network, Five Eyes. That means too much CIA input into anti-China perceptions in recent years. It also helped bring down the Whitlam government. (more…)
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New China-US rules, region’s Taiwan anxiety, Sri Lankan scam hub – Asian Media Report
Xi’s latest terms for the American relationship, Trump’s post-summit verbal meandering, cybercrime operations’ new base, the west’s dominance is an historical ‘aberration’, and the Modi government’s all-veg banquets.
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Could China, Russia and the United States work together?
Observers in China detect the possibility of ‘trilateral coordination’ between China, Russia and the United States, with the US the biggest variable. (more…)
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Freedom Flotilla Coalition says Israeli forces attacked aid boats for 35 hours
In a statement from the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s US arm, organisers say Israeli forces carried out a prolonged assault on civilian aid boats in international waters, using gunfire, water cannons and violent boardings against unarmed volunteers attempting to reach Gaza.
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Why the next Trump-Xi summit could be in Australia’s backyard
As Washington and Beijing reshape the Indo-Pacific order through direct negotiation, Australia risks remaining strategically reactive instead of positioning itself as a trusted diplomatic bridge between the two powers. (more…)
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A Hungarian playbook for defeating populists?
Advocates of liberal democracy everywhere are celebrating Péter Magyar’s triumph over Viktor Orbán. But among the lessons to draw from the Hungarian experience, the most important may be that toppling an illiberal populist is not as straightforward as much of the press coverage has made it seem. (more…)
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India is no longer resisting globalisation – it is shaping it
India has shifted from decades of economic protectionism to an outward-looking strategy built on trade, investment and global integration, transforming its role in the world economy. (more…)
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The US and Iran are trapped in a dangerous cycle of escalation
The war between the US and Iran is increasingly being driven by the self-reinforcing dynamics of escalation, retaliation and mistrust that make de-escalation politically and strategically difficult.
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New Zealand PM ignores a terrorist attack on his own citizens
The Israeli assault on the Gaza-bound Global Sumud flotilla has sparked accusations that New Zealand’s government abandoned its own citizens and failed its most basic obligations under international law. (more…)
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The West is no innocent in international politics
Western powers have repeatedly backed or empowered religious extremists when it suited strategic interests, while undermining secular nationalist movements across the Middle East and Central Asia.
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The battle for human attention is becoming a battle for democracy
After US courts found Meta and YouTube liable for deliberately addicting young users, attention is increasingly being recognised not as a private commodity, but as a strategic resource shaping democracy, public debate and social stability. (more…)
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Indonesia’s fear of the ‘J word’ reveals a deeper intolerance
Indonesia’s response to the Bondi shootings and the royal commission hearings exposed a deeper unease – one where fear, politics and prejudice still shape how Judaism and Israel are discussed in public life.
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Cannes and the courts deliver a sharp rebuke to political silencing – Message from the Editor
Two seemingly unconnected things happened this week, one at the Cannes film festival on the French Riviera, the other in the US District Court in Washington. The events concerned two women – Susan Sarandon and Francesca Albanese. So what connects an icon of the screen with an Italian human-rights lawyer, and why does it matter?
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Why slums persist
Research from Brazil suggests informal settlements persist not because people want to live in them, but because cities continue to fail on affordable housing, education and access to work.
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Demagogues, despots and the rise of ‘phantom democracies’
Modern despots increasingly mimic the language and rituals of democracy while concentrating power through manipulation, spectacle, nationalism and the managed consent of their citizens.
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Stubborn inflation in Indonesia could undermine trust in the government
As healthcare, education and housing costs rise sharply across Indonesia, public frustration is increasingly colliding with political rhetoric that appears disconnected from everyday economic realities.
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The war on Iran will likely end in American retreat
The US and Israel expected a rapid collapse of the Iranian regime, but the war has instead exposed the limits of American power, the rising cost of modern warfare and Iran’s capacity to impose regional consequences. (more…)
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Is Australia America’s 51st state in Asia?
Both Labor and the Coalition are deepening Australia’s alignment with the United States, even as doubts grow about AUKUS, the rules-based order and the risks of being drawn into a US-China conflict. (more…)
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The old economics is failing – and the World Bank knows it
By coming out in favour of industrial policy after many decades of advising against government intervention in the economy, the World Bank has taken an important step. But it still has much further to go to translate real-world evidence into better policy advice.
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War destroys more than lives – it destroys cultural worlds
War, displacement and colonisation do not only destroy lives and communities, but also the cultural worlds, histories and shared meanings that give people a sense of continuity and belonging.
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Australia’s ISIS cases test law, politics and fairness
Three women repatriated from Syria have been charged with serious offences under Australian law, but the response from political leaders risks undermining the right to a fair trial. (more…)
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The two-party system is breaking under the weight of capitalism
Election results in Britain and Australia point to a deeper crisis in the two-party system, as economic power drifts further beyond the reach of democratic control. (more…)
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On-again, off-again war/peace rhetoric: just epic insider trading?
Epic insider trading by those who likely know Trump’s plans is one characteristic of the US war on Iran, with some observers suggesting the on-again off-again peace deals are deliberately choreographed for the markets.
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An acid test of Indonesia’s democracy
An acid attack by four Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) soldiers on a human rights activist highlights growing tensions as President Prabowo reinstates military influence in Indonesia’s civilian administration. (more…)
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India’s farms dodged the Hormuz crisis, but its budget didn’t
The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to commercial vessels on 17 April 2026 came as a great relief for India. But the blocking of the strait revealed both how exposed Indian agriculture is to a single waterway and how heavily the government must lean on subsidies to insulate farmers from the consequences. (more…)
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Modi’s power grip, Japan’s regional pitch, Suu Kyi’s house arrest – Asian Media Report
BJP’s historic state dominance, Takaichi’s ‘proactive’ Indo-Pacific role, AI’s emerging role in diplomacy, Pyongyang’s ‘normal nation’ push, Myanmar’s change without change, Taiwan’s national happiness win. (more…)