Exploring Quad+ cooperation By Dr Pia Dannhauer The Quad is a diplomatic network of four countries – Australia, India, Japan, and the United States –committed to supporting an open, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific. The Quad mechanism is not a formal alliance. Nonetheless, it allows its members to shape their strategic environment – and to influence […]

The View from Australia: Strategic Competition in the Indian Ocean By Dr Kate O’Shaughnessy That the Indo-Pacific region is facing unprecedented strategic uncertainty is now a core tenet of Australian foreign policy.  Mostly, Australian policy makers’ attention has been on the places where those uncertainties (code for Chinese military build-up and opaque lending) are being […]

The interplay between the National Agreement and First Nations Foreign Policy By Sarah Leary The Productivity Commission has released its first review of progress on the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. Will Australia’s foreign affairs portfolio respond to the call for change? All Australian governments – and all commonwealth agencies – have obligations under […]

Australia shouldn’t lose sight of the Indian army By Kim Heriot-Darragh This article was originally published in The Strategist by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute on 31 January 2024. In the public discussion on Australia’s defence relationship with India, Army-to-Army cooperation gets short shrift. That’s understandable, with maritime issues at the heart of both countries’ […]

Understanding trends in space activity and their impact on the Indo-Pacific By Renae Sayers When we look up to the sky and take a moment to breathe in the night, we see those pin-pricks of light dotting the dark, urging us to wonder. I used to wonder about which pin-pricks of light were far-off galaxies, […]

Islamic finance holds the key to unlocking our economic relationships in Southeast Asia By Dr Imran Lum The Australian government has made clear, including through its Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040, that it wants to boost economic engagement with its neighbours. To do that, it must understand Southeast Asian financial markets, which includes the Islamic […]

China’s Western Indian Ocean Step Up By Dr Kate O’Shaughnessy This article was originally published under a Creative Commons Licence by the Australian Institute of International Affairs on 16 October 2023. In the last decade, China’s been steadily increasing its presence in the western Indian Ocean. That worries India and France, and has the potential […]

Australia’s defence: shifting frames from land to the sea By Kim Heriot-Darragh This article was written by Perth USAsia Centre Research and Program Fellow Kim Heriot-Darragh. Ten years ago, Australia’s prevailing view of its defence force was Army-centric: we thought mainly of soldiers fulfilling unconventional roles in Timor-Leste, Afghanistan and Iraq. Our Navy and Air […]

Promoting safety, protecting freedom: regulating internet use across the Indo-Pacific By Tanvi Nair Countries in the Indo-Pacific region are increasingly regulating digital platforms and internet services. As governments grapple with how best to regulate, the tension between promoting online safety and protecting online freedom intensifies. There is a legitimate and urgent need to regulate digital platforms […]

An insecure future: Climate change-related disaster management in the Indo-Pacific By Kate Clayton The Indo-Pacific is the most climate-affected region on the planet. It is home to the world’s fastest-sinking city (Jakarta) and country (Kiribati), and the World Bank estimates that by 2050 the Indo-Pacific will have up to 90 million climate refugees. By 2033, it is estimated […]

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