The tense situation in US relations with Russia over the massing of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border and with China over an increasingly militarily threatened Taiwan confronts a domestically distracted America with the prospect of conflicts on two separate fronts.
Indonesia's Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu has urged Australia to rebuke Pacific states, in particular Solomon Islands, for raising Papua in global fora.
Indonesia has asked Australia to caution its Pacific Island neighbours against interfering in the West Papua issue and to urge them to withdraw support for West Papuan membership of the Melanesian Spearhead Group, warning that the issue could pose a “stumbling block” to closer bilateral ties.
William T. Tow and Rikki Kersten, eds, Bilateral Perspectives on Regional Security Australia, Japan and the Asia-Pacific Region, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
H. D. P. Envall and Ian Hall, ‘Asian Strategic Partnerships: New Practices and Regional Security Governance’, Asian Politics & Policy, 8(1) 2016: 87-105.
