Australian governments generally like to be front of mind in Beijing. But the heightened level of Chinese government awareness of things Australian, as evidenced by the editorial run by The Global Times on 30 July …
Articles by: "Allan Behm"
Many commentators and readers of The Economist keenly await their weekly dose of KAL. The 16 July 2016 cartoon didn’t disappoint. A claimant hoists the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s South China Sea ruling aloft while …
The heat of the Brexit result has given way to a cold dawn light revealing the enormity of the British decision. The nation is deeply divided, not just along traditional class lines, but between youth …
In case anyone thinks that Indonesia’s somewhat diffident assertion of its fishing rights in the waters around the Natuna Islands in the South China Sea is just the usual squabble between fishermen from neighbouring countries, …
Whoever finds herself as Foreign Minister after the 2 July federal election, she will need to adapt quickly to a new form of ‘dancing with the stars’. The election of Rodrigo ‘Digong’ Duterte as President …
For those privileged to attend the second day of ASPI’s Defence White Paper: from the Page to Reality conference on 8 April 2016, the address by the former President of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was …
It’s astonishing to see the conservative inheritors of Churchill’s mantle clamouring to escape the European Union. It‘s even more astonishing to see the looming destruction of a grand alliance—the purpose of which was to prevent …
Lord Palmerston is quite often cited in The Strategist. Had he prosecuted his thinking on the ephemeral nature of alliances and the enduring nature of interests to its logical conclusion, he might have said that …
Modern Defence White Papers are notoriously difficult to craft. As public documents, they’re fragile vehicles that are expected to carry a number of heavy loads. They must be accurate enough in their scan of the …
‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less’. It would appear that there’s no dearth of Humpty Dumpties …
Everyone on the public payroll, military and civilian alike, has a duty to carry out the lawful instructions of government. They also have a duty to provide considered, honest and impartial advice to government, and …
Those of us who have enjoyed a long association with Indonesia would recall, with some affection at least, the former Australian Embassy in Jalan Thamrin. With the Selamat Datang (Welcome) monument opposite and the Hotel …