News
YOLO: Insights from Thailand
Religious worldviews can shape the thinking of senior officials in profound ways - take YOLO, for instance. ‘You only live once’ is an expression encouraging a life lived on the edge. Canadian rapper...
Green Turtle Dreaming
In her new book chapter on the Indonesian and Australian women bridging the divides between their cultures, Virginia Hooker devises a metaphor centred on the concept of the Green Turtle. Just as...
The Symbolism of ASEAN at 50
Had someone at the foundation of ASEAN fifty years ago predicted that the regional organisation would be around in half a century, they might not have been openly laughed at, but they would likely...
Being a good neighbour: Australia in Asia
Re-imagining Australia’s relationships with its neighbours poses no small challenge. Yet, a panel of academics from the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre took up just that question at the...
Thailand’s new migrant worker policy is a step onto uncertain ground
Since 2014, Thailand’s coup-led government has prioritised eliminating human trafficking, especially among migrant workers. This renewed attention has been in direct response to a storm of...
Asian pawns lose out in power play between the US and China
China is winning the battle over the South China Sea, the resource-rich stretch of contested water where the country’s been building artificial islands equipped with military-length airstrips...
Out of order
What does Australia want from ASEAN? Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop gave a clear answer in her speech in Manila on 16 March. In a memorable phrase, Ms Bishop called for ASEAN to use its ‘...
Tackling human trafficking in ASEAN
On 6 February, the Philippines became the sixth member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to ratify the ASEAN Convention Against Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and...
Assessing Indonesia's new decree on refugees
On 31 December last year, Indonesian President Joko Widodo quietly issued a decree on the handling of refugees, breaking a long held silence on the issue. The pronouncement outlines how relevant...
Malaysia Update Conference 2016: Najib’s Malaysia — A Crisis of Confidence?
The past year in Malaysia has been as tumultuous as any in sixty years of independence. At its epicentre has been the sovereign wealth fund 1 Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), with debts of around...
