Opinion & Commentary
Opinion and Commentary contains media articles written by CIS researchers.
Categories
Nothing to fear from China's foreign policy
Chinese President Xi Jinping knows Asian stability will only help his ambitions. Read More
Unrealistic expectations of Australian defence spending
Australian defence planners must abandon inefficient big-ticket capital purchases in favour of a more sustainable and balanced defence force structure. Read More
Don't let Iraq syndrome prolong the slaughter in Syria
The memory of the the rash military adventurism in Iraq is still fresh, but that must not prevent us from using force to help end the humanitarian crisis in Syria. Read More
Abundant Asian Century opportunities for an already Asia-savvy Australia
Tapping into the Asian Century bonanza does not mean that Australia requires costly education and training programs. Read More
No need for Asian Century panic
Why the anxiety over readying Australia for the Asian Century? Read More
The case for complacency about Australia’s engagement with Asia
Calls for Australia to embrace Asia are unfounded; our Asian embrace is already extensive and only getting deeper. Read More
Business didn’t wait for White Paper
We can expect meagre policy returns from the Asian Century White Paper. Read More
A cultural revolution to celebrate
In a very real sense, Australia is already Asian. Read More
Australia’s Nuclear Sub Option
Australia needs the best submarines it can get, and that means the U.S. Navy’s Virginia Class nuclear-powered attack submarine. Read More
Sorry, Malcolm, Australia needs the US in the Asian century
Now is the time for our friendship with America to prosper and thrive. Read More
No easy solutions in Syria
There are no easy options in the Syria situation. Read More
Reduced defence spending may well be sound public policy
Australia is under US protection and the world is a more peaceful place now. Read More
War-war when jaw-jaw fails?
Despite a United Nations and Arab League-sponsored ceasefire agreement and the deployment of growing numbers of UN observers, Syrian troops continue to fire on civilians. Read More
End the cargo-cult aid mentality that has ruined our neighbours
Pacific elites have appropriated the bulk of aid, mineral, forestry and other incomes to become immensely wealthy at the cost of villagers. Read More
Faith placed in Uncle Sam as neighbourhood warily welcomes China
Australians have become used to thinking about the rise of China, the role of America, and what the interplay between these two powers means for us. Related Read More
EU referendum is a bad Irish joke
Economically, whatever happens in Ireland will not be decisive for the future of the euro. That is more likely being decided in Berlin, Frankfurt, Paris, Athens and Lisbon. But to the rest of Europe watching... Read More
Liberal democracies do it their own way
Arab Springs don’t bring Western clones Read More
Avoiding conflict but quietly waving flag
Southeast Asian governments will welcome increased US involvement in the region. Read More
Italy defaults on debt and sends lenders broke? So be it
The federal government will need to cut spending to ensure a surplus in 2012-13. Read More
Going long on European deja vu
Markets were euphoric, political leaders relieved. “Europe has taken a step forward. Europe and Greece will emerge stronger from this crisis,” Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou boasted to reporters.... Read More
Europe’s forgotten lessons of history
The rise and fall of the Euro is just another chapter in the long history of monetary unions in Europe. The Euro was not the first attempt to unite different European economies and countries by a monetary... Read More
The march of democracy in Southeast Asia
Both Malaysia and Singapore are nominally democratic. Yet both are what Fareed Zakaria calls 'illiberal democracies': "democratically elected regimes... routinely ignoring constitutional limits on their... Read More
Skilled arrivals work in Australia's favour
We are the richer for being more selective with our immigration policy in Australia Read More
Setting a European time bomb
The announcement by Standard & Poor’s to downgrade US government debt may have been historic but largely inconsequential Read More
US Congress swapped a crisis yesterday for a bigger crisis tomorrow
I provoked a tirade of abuse from Crikey readers in the past fortnight when I suggested it would be preferable that the $14.3 trillion United States debt ceiling not be raised. Read More
Hitting pause on the eurozone crisis
Every year, the Centre for Independent Studies hosts a high-level conference in Queensland. One of the speakers this year was Thilo Sarrazin, the author of the equally controversial and successful (1.3... Read More
Complacency is the danger in Asia's power games
Even if one disagrees with Wolfowitz's thinking on the Middle East, this viewpoint on China policy cannot be easily dismissed. The assistant secretary of state for east Asia and the Pacific when Ferdinand... Read More
Complacency is the danger in Asia's power games
Even if one disagrees with Wolfowitz's thinking on the Middle East, this viewpoint on China policy cannot be easily dismissed. The assistant secretary of state for east Asia and the Pacific when Ferdinand... Read More
Greece bailout: prolonging pain for no real gain
Rescuing the country with another bailout would only prolong the pain. Greece squandered money on the Olympic Games, an over-sized bureaucracy and easy loans Read More
Paying dearly for European insanity
it would be tempting to seize the moment and rehash all the arguments for why the euro will never work and cannot be saved. Read More
The PC empire strikes back
GERMAN banker Thilo Sarrazin is a pariah for saying things few would question here. Read More
Pakistan a Chinese pawn to stall India
AT the Shangri-La Dialogue meeting of defence ministers in Singapore last month, Indian Defence Minister Pallam Raju was asked whether India could exercise similar self-restraint should another terrorist... Read More
A bad time to damage our economy as the next stage of the GFC looms
WITH the US fiscal crisis nearing a dramatic finale, downgrades of European debt ratings continuing and the euro crisis deteriorating, the global financial crisis has just moved into a new phase. Read More
Learning from Europe's competitive spirit
One of the classic questions of economic history is how the West grew rich. Read More
Has the EU's stress test failed?
As the whole world worried about a potential Greek collapse, another European country experienced two actual bank failures. Read More
China’s exports don’t fuel boom
While China undoubtedly needs both for the communist party to remain in power, the dilemma for the country’s leaders is that the way China achieves rapid economic growth is increasingly the reason behind... Read More
ASEAN must include US in talks on South China Sea
Indonesia was positioning itself as an ‘honest broker’ in the South China Sea dispute. Now it appears much more circumspect. Read More
Sending profits abroad is a good thing
It is amazing how easily people are convinced by this 'sending profits abroad' argument, when it is just a protectionist fallacy. Read More
Foreign investment will boost food security
Foreigners acquiring Australian farm land appears to unite all political parties, we shouldn’t allow commercial decisions to be overridden my populist votes. Read More
US will Remain the Preeminent Player in Asia
In early May, I gave an interview to the Chinese state-run Global Times newspaper arguing that China was probably ‘the loneliest rising great power in world history’ Read More
Beware China's control of rare earth minerals
China’s rare-earth quota policies will have global repercussions. Read More
China and the tactical utility of international norms
China is finding it difficult to translate economic size into normative leadership, let alone dominance. Read More
Missing the woods for the trees
China won't be happy if India becomes an Asia power. Read More
China's influence gap
Beijing is finding that translating its economic size into regional strategic and diplomatic leverage is more difficult than it first appeared. Read More
Japan's economic demons dog China
The enduring flaws in Japan’s political economy’s continue to stunt its growth. Read More
China's self-defeating currency policy
Although a stronger yuan would be better for the economy, it would hurt the Chinese Communist Party. Read More
China’s America Obsession:
Osama bin Laden’s death will only accelerate America’s reengagement with its Asian allies and partners at China’s expense. Read More
PM may trump Rudd in managing China
Gillard’s lack of foreign policy experience and ambition could well be a blessing in disguise. Read More
The China hedge
Beijing’s mantra of ‘building mutual respect and trust’ remains hollow. Unfortunately, this is unlikely to change since ambiguity is at the heart of China’s military grand strategy. Read More
Why Taiwan will fail
Taipei has a plan to make a virtue out of the necessity of greater integration. But Beijing will demand reunification and time is on its side. Read More
Cracks in ‘Great Firewall of China’
A blogger’s disappearance in China reveals nervous despots. Read More
Good news for Chinese banks, bad news for reforms
Beijing has been increasing the spread in Chinese banks to improve the quality of their assets. Put simply, the more money China's dominant state-owned banks lend, the greater their profits. Read More
The Fiji meeting would be a farce if it were funny
‘Melanesia’ is an anthropologists’ construct that has no economic and little other sense. It the arcane world of United Nations politics it was promoted as a ‘region’ to create jobs for bureaucrats,... Read More
Haunted by China's ghost cities
If Australia thinks it can avoid the ‘Dutch disease’ by relying on the relentless construction of empty Chinese shopping malls, ghost cities and unused infrastructure, then we too could be in for a... Read More
Why Australia's socialist Prime Minister now loves America
Hedging against authoritarian China by strengthening the U.S.-led hub-and-spokes security system in the region is now Australia’s preferred—and possibly only—option. Read More
Party needs to loosen its grip
The Chinese mode of governance is highly corrupt and dependent on questionable lending practices, while local wards gain revenue through unsustainable and often illegal property development enterprises. Read More
Malaysia's phony war on affirmative action
Policies favouring the Malay majority over Chinese and Indian Malaysians must change, but progress so far has been slight. Read More
The problem with China’s banks – unknown and unknowable
The official accounts of China’s banks indicating reasonable financial health simply do make sense. Just as senior banking executives cannot predict what the majority of their branches will do, they... Read More
Indonesia's tightrope act
Asean leadership will help Indonesia use the US as a counterweight to China in Southeast Asia without making Beijing feel isolated. Read More
Egypt's fate could yet be Malaysia's future
When announcing his "new economic model" last year, Najib became the first Malaysian prime minister to explicitly link the country's economic and social problems with its four-decades long affirmative-action... Read More
Charm defensive
As the other great foundational civilisation in Asia, India presents a unique challenge to China that other big Asian powers such as Japan do not. Read More
Jakarta's year of leading diplomatically
The Asean member states are playing a difficult game of balancing and constraining China while benefiting from the economic opportunities of its rise. Read More
Watching Egypt crumble: Mideast chaos emboldens China's hard-liners
But while many Western observers hope the unrest in Egypt might cause the CCP to think twice about maintaining its iron grip, unrest in the Middle East is bring home some very different lessons for Beijing. Read More
Washington's affair with Jakarta gets serious
With China flexing its muscles in the South China Sea, and Indonesia resuming its traditional leadership role in South East Asia, both Washington and Jakarta are eager to prioritise security cooperation. Read More
Hu's real agenda
An improvement in Sino-U.S. diplomatic relations is not the same as cooperation. Read More
Cooperation and the Chinese Hydra
The Chinese leader does not have the authority to make the hard decisions that Obama will be pressing him to make—meaning that doing business with China will be a lot more chaotic and unpredictable than... Read More
How the U.S. Can Manage Expectations of U.S.-China Talks
Whoever is leading China is not a dominant leader with real power, but a figure riding a streak of tigers often pulling in different directions. Read More
Beijing’s motives behind rare-earth metals
There’s a growing suspicion that China is increasingly taking a zero-sum rather than ‘win-win’ approach to open markets and free trade. Read More
People's republics
By 2040, the world may be talking, not about a Washington or Beijing consensus, but a 'Mumbai Consensus' on economic development. Read More
China's national insecurity
Beijing sees Liu Xiaobo's Nobel Peace Prize as part of an international strategy to contain China's rise. Read More
China and India's Growing Energy Rivalry
Competition for oil and gas resources will be the most likely cause of serious tension between the two Asian giants in the years ahead. Read More
Tearing Chindia apart
It was obvious that China and India in particular had coordinated strategies before the summit to scupper any binding agreement. Read More
Rudd deserves points for confronting some brutal truths
The leaked conversation between Hillary Clinton and Kevin Rudd contradicts the perception that the former Australian prime minister was "soft" on China. Read More
Chinese want degrees, not democracy
American values still have wide, if not universal, appeal. But we cannot ignore the apparent paradox that the young and urbane in China have become the strongest supporters of the Chinese Communist Party... Read More
What if the Chinese Bubble Bursts?
If the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008 is any guide, we already know what Beijing will do in the event of a bursting of its bubble. Read More
U.S. envoy to ASEAN
A productive American relationship with ASEAN, particularly when it joins the East Asia Summit as a full member in 2011, is critical to stability in an increasingly tense region. Read More
In the Asian century, Washington must still offer leadership
Tensions between the US and China should not present any fundamental dilemmas for Canberra since the capacity of Beijing to make Australia choose is quite weak. Read More
The end of the charm offensive
China's neighbours welcome a strong China, just not a dominant one -- and that's where the United States comes in. Read More
The stakes at the East Asia summit
Beijing wants to ease America out of the region, but other nations want to entrench the U.S. role. Read More
China won't revalue the yuan
No amount of hectoring by Barack Obama is going to change the calculus of Chinese leaders. An undervalued currency may be critical to their very survival. Read More
The end of smile diplomacy?
Beneath the façade of unity in Chinese decision-making is the gradual but inexorable fragmentation in the formulation of regional strategy and the conduct of foreign policy itself. Read More
China-Japan tensions will rise
Tension between China and Japan is structural, strategic and institutional – something that can only be managed rather than resolved. Read More
The resurrection of Kevin Rudd
The question now is whether Mr. Rudd has learned from his mistakes and will be a team player, or whether he plans to use his profile and foreign-policy experience to rebuild his leadership credentials... Read More
Don’t rush to back Beijing over Delhi
While China's efficiency hides a brittleness, chaotic India's model is deceptively resilient. Read More
If only China were more like Japan
China is heading toward a Japanese-style economic debacle and that the process won’t be as gradual or peaceful, says John Lee in Business Week, 1 September 2010. Read More
China's water grab
Forget the South China Sea. If America really cares about strengthening its presence in Asia, it’ll focus on the Mekong River instead, says John Lee in Foreign Policy, 24 August 2010. Read More
China's rise and the road to war
As with Germany a century ago, an emerging power is overestimating its capabilities, says John Lee in The Wall Street Journal, 6 August 2010. Read More
Obama switching sides over China
There is renewed American preparedness to join with regional allies and partners in checking China’s ambition. Read More
Unpacking the black box
China’s dicey statistics tell us a lot, says John Lee in Newsweek, 30 July 2010. Read More
A way India can outshine China
If India hosts a successful Commonwealth Games in October it will be a pleasant surprise for the region and help to further silence sceptics of India’s competence. Read More
The uncurious case of Xue Feng’s jail sentence
The geologist and U.S. citizen was charged with stealing Chinese state secrets. A case of Deja Hu? Read More
Hardsell soft power
China dedicates considerable more resources to building ‘soft’ power than India. Read More
India needs to flex its soft muscles
New Delhi would do well to learn lessons from Beijing about the importance of selling its strengths and achievements to the world, says Dr John Lee in The Sydney Morning Herald, 29 June 2010. Read More
PM Rudd’s demise signals more modest Australian foreign policy
Prime Minister Gillard’s diplomacy will be much more cautious compared to Kevin Rudd, says John Lee in the Straits Times , New Straits Times and Jakarta Post 25 June 2010. Read More
A well-timed currency kowtow
China's currency reform is meant to appease foreign politicians, not rebalance the domestic economy. Read More
China’s got a secret
China’s policy of concealment and fostering uncertainty are the main impediments to deepening its military-to-military ties with the United States. Read More
Opaqueness at heart of Chinese military’s U.S. strategy
Chinese reluctance to commit to meaningful high level military-to-military talks with America is not as much about Taiwan but a reluctance to show its perceived military weaknesses and creating ambiguity... Read More
Don't buy China's growth mirage
Rural-to-urban migration is having less and less influence on the rising levels of fixed and asset investment activity occurring throughout China. Read More
EU not on China’s chessboard
European nations are making a mistake courting China as to maintain relevance they need to align with the US. Read More
Authoritarian China won’t bow to US policy
Australia needs to rethink its special relationship with the US if it wants to be China’s friend. Read More
A bailout that hurts the Germans but doesn’t help the Greeks
As long as countries such as Greece are joined with Germany in a monetary union, this monetary union will not work, argues Oliver Marc Hartwich for the Institute of Economic Affairs, 5 May 2010 Read More
What did Hu expect?
Only the willfully stubborn or the ignorant will argue that Stern Hu’s admission of guilt on the charge of bribery means that concerns held about the Chinese economic legal and political environment... Read More
In dealing with Beijing, overambition tends to backfire
Obama and Rudd are having more trouble with China than Bush and Howard. Read More
Inflated expectations of a rising yuan
Chinese inflation in theory can lift the currency, but don’t hold your breath. Read More
Why China is stepping on toes
Foreign companies will be watching the outcome of the Stern Hu trail very carefully. Read More
Europe's China blindness
Europe’s relationship with China needs to move with the times. Read More
No more hope or glory for Britain
Britain needs to make tough decisions to reassure investors of its fiscal credibility. Read More
Rudd seeks redemption from Susilo’s visit
Deepening the bilateral relationship between Jakarta and Canberra ought to be one of the first steps towards any regional ‘activism’ on Australia’s part. Read More
China between T-bills and a hard place
Despite Beijing’s addiction to US bonds, the proportion of US government debt financed by Chinese foreign exchange reserves has been falling significantly since 2008. Read More
Perception gap
American faith in the transformative power of China's economic rise might be misplaced. Read More
Paper tiger: China's no threat to the US
Some Chinese leaders think Beijing can use its financial clout to punish the US, but there's little reason for the White House to worry. Read More
Europe can’t afford weak leaders
Europe does not need politicians wishing to win beauty contests but leaders willing to tackle the manifold problems in the continent’s increasingly sclerotic, over-regulated and over-taxed economies. Read More
Army of well-paid advisers keep Pacific poor
Poorly targeted aid to the Pacific hinders rather than helps the region. Read More
Confronting Beijing’s new bipolar reality
America’s attempts to ‘manage’ China’s rise are failing. Read More
Big trouble with big China
Relations between Washington and Beijing are looking more tense than ever. Read More
Why China won’t be a ‘responsible stakeholder’
The U.S.-China bilateral relationship is the most important one in the world. But the flaws in the relationship model constructed by Washington are becoming more apparent. Read More
China's new Silk Road geo-strategy in Asia
China is seeking to change the geostrategic parameters of the existing game for influence in Asia. Read More
Why Rudd has overstayed his welcome in Asia
John Howard had far more gravitas and influence in Australasia than Kevin Rudd, who is starting to look like he doesn’t know how to respond to China’s rise in Asia. Read More
China’s next generation of leaders
The appointment of five provincial-level Chinese Communist Party chiefs in early December is a reminder that the ascension of China’s next generation of leaders, who will take power in 2012, may be the... Read More
China’s intransigence is a sign of its insecurity
Recent events have convinced many observers that we are entering an unprecedented era marked by rising Chinese power and influence at the expense of the West. Read More
We aren't just larrikins
Too many Australians take for granted that they live in a prosperous and vibrant nation with a fantastic quality of life and is a good place in which to do business. Read More
China fears climate change openness
Beijing, which fears that external monitoring might reveal internal dysfunction, was backed into a corner by the United States at Copenhagen. Read More
Don’t overlook India’s consumer market for China’s
Urban consumers in India will likely drive more global business than their Chinese counterparts while India’s rural development far outpaces China’s. Read More
Chinese Urbanization Put on Hold
Beijing will gradually relax the hukou, or household registration system, to give rural Chinese citizens an opportunity to seek a better life in the city – not just speeding up the rate of poverty alleviation... Read More
For once it’s better to end with a whimper
Washington pulls out all the stops for President Barack Obama's first state visitor: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the leader of the world's largest democracy. Read More
Boring summits are better for everyone
Barack Obama and Manmohan Singh should say as little as possible when they meet in Washington next week. Read More
Pacific angst
The very fact that America needs to negotiate with its Asian allies and partners – and sometimes even compromise – means that Washington will adapt in ways that allow it to remain the preferred security... Read More
China woos Africa – and not just for its resources
While much of the world still views Africa as a basket-case continent, Beijing is thinking ahead and busy establishing a foothold in Africa's potentially large consumer markets. Read More
Rudd fails to court New Delhi
If Australia wants to remain an active, relevant and influential middle power in Asia, then spending the next half decade improving our bilateral relationship with countries such as India is much more... Read More
India Fast Becoming Asia's 'Swing State'
If India’s unpredictable political parties remain committed to continue reforms, and the bilateral partnership between Washington and New Delhi continue to deepen, a rising India (along with a still-dominant... Read More
China's potential enemy is US' good friend
If India’s unpredictable political parties remain committed to continue reforms, and the bilateral partnership between Washington and New Delhi continue to deepen, a rising India (along with a still-dominant... Read More
Beijing birthday spin distorts reality
As the week-long celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of modern China roll on, the message coming out of Beijing is that China’s evolution into a confident, strong, just and prosperous... Read More
China’s statistical setback
Although China has been decentralizing and officials have multiplied, it is not the building of institutions that encourages public accountability. Read More
The Party's Not Over: Why China's 60th birthday is nothing to celebrate
Inone important respect, authoritarian China is failing: while the Chinese state is rich and the party powerful, civil society is weak and the vast majority of people remain poor. Read More
Dynamics of difference
Where once Australia was a European outpost in the South Pacific, our recent love affair with China suggests Europe may no longer be important to Australia. Read More
China's Ring of Power
While nobody was paying attention, Beijing was busy cornering the market on a little-known, but much coveted, strategic commodity. Read More
Why America will lead ‘Asian century’
Not a week passes, it seems, without a big-picture thinker releasing a big-picture book or giving a big-picture sermon describing the gradual eclipse of American hegemony in Asia. True, American power... Read More
The region does not need the PM’s architecture
Kevin Rudd has consistently lectured the region that some big-picture strategic thinking is needed in Asia. Read More
US is still a leading influence in the balance of power in Asia
It seems that not a week goes by without a big-picture thinker releasing a big-picture book or giving a big-picture sermon describing the gradual eclipse of American hegemony in Asia. True, American power... Read More
Why the ‘China functionalists’ might win the battle but lose the war
The US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue between Washington and Beijing has begun. Owing to the global financial crisis, the talks will have even more significance than usual. But when it comes to... Read More
Getting Asia's approval for an Indo-US partnership
On her first trip abroad as Secretary of State which was to Asia in March 2009, insiders in both New Delhi and Washington were privately critical when Hillary Clinton neglected to include India in her... Read More
China is not ready to lead the world
In a speech given just before the 17th Chinese Communist Party Congress in 2007, Premier Wen Jiabao rebuked those agitating for political reform and told a domestic gathering of policymakers and intellectuals... Read More
Foreign Policy: Why Beijing Needs To Be Brutal
After scolding the West for interfering in the internal affairs of Iran, Beijing’s public relations department will now be on the defensive following riots in Urumqi, the capital of the westernmost region... Read More
China's Empty Land Reform
Recently, Beijing announced new procedures to ‘give an effective guarantee’ to rural citizens that their land rights would be respected by ‘standardising’ arbitration procedures. This is explicit... Read More
The rural poor in India fare better than in China
China and India will likely defy the economic malaise in Western economies and grow at more than 7% this year. But that is where the comparison should end. Contrary to popular hype, India is actually outpacing... Read More
Don’t bridge this difference
Visitors invariably comment that China is shiny, orderly and clean while India is dusty, chaotic and dirty. In 2006, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asked what Mumbai could learn from Shanghai? Both these... Read More
Beijing's facade of resilience
Some analysts speculate that the turmoil caused by the global financial crisis presents an opportunity for the Chinese government to push ahead with fundamental economic reforms that will raise the importance... Read More
China’s Progress Looks Nothing like Singapore's
Recent conversations with Chinese political scientists brought home the great extent to which Beijing is obsessed with watching, analysing, and replicating the success of Singapore. After all, despite... Read More
China no longer learns East Asian lessons
When the Nobel Prize-winning economist Kenneth Arrow was asked which country had the best managed economy recently, he nominated China, Taiwan and South Korea. This viewpoint is consistent with the widely... Read More
20 years on from Tiananmen, political reform no closer
With the twentieth anniversary of the Tiananmen protests today, many would have thought that conditions are better now for political reform in China than ever. Yet, no one in the still bustling shopping... Read More
Democracy's long march to China
Last month, actor Jackie Chan created uproar around the world when he told a gathering in Hainan province that China didn’t need democracy because Chinese people needed to be controlled. With the twentieth... Read More
PM Rudd still needing strategy lessons from Asian allies
This weekend, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was given the honour of delivering the keynote at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue meeting in Singapore. Maybe it was a peace offering of sorts since PM... Read More
Indians vote to become ‘swing state’ in Asia
Current leader Manmohan Singh will become only the second Indian prime minister to win reelection after serving a full five year term. Even though the election was fought primarily on domestic issues,... Read More
Indians vote to become ‘swing state’ in Asia
Current leader Manmohan Singh will become only the second Indian prime minister to win reelection after serving a full five year term. Even though the election was fought primarily on domestic issues,... Read More
Law forcing Chinese to smoke indicates deeper problem
The farce and corruption of many local officials in China is held in check only by the decency and common sense of ordinary Chinese citizens. In March, officials in Gong’an country in China’s Hubei... Read More
Australia is in a bind about China
Ever since China's great reformer, Deng Xiaoping, instructed Chinese leaders to "hide brightness, nourish obscurity," the region has been playing a guessing game trying to decipher Beijing's longer-term... Read More
Australia in a bind deciphering China's future intentions
Ever since China’s great reformer, Deng Xiaoping, instructed Chinese leaders to ‘Hide Brightness, nourish obscurity’, the world has been playing a guessing game in trying to decipher Beijing’s... Read More
Now it’s China’s Turn to Learn from India
In terms of growth, the two bright spots in the global economy also happen to be the two most populous countries: China and India will likely grow at more than 6 percent in 2009. But that is where the... Read More
The Waning Challenge of the ‘Authoritarian Capitalists’
Capitalist authoritarian states with their booming economies will be pitted against liberal-democratic counterparts. But the current economic crisis has already led to the waning of confidence of capitalist... Read More
China’s much lauded ‘charm offensive’ is hitting a wall
Chinese soft power – the ability to get what it wants through persuasion and attraction rather than using the age old approach of carrots and sticks – has a long way to go, especially in Australia.... Read More
China’s much lauded ‘charm offensive’ is hitting a wall
Chinese soft power – the ability to get what it wants through persuasion and attraction rather than using the age old approach of carrots and sticks – has a long way to go, especially in Australia.... Read More
In Pakistan, the sores of partition are still raw
Spend some time at any Australian university and you will see Indians, Pakistanis and Sri Lankans mixing freely. Clubs such the Desi Indian Students' Society show the ties that bind – cricket, curry... Read More
Foreign interest is all win for Australia
The debate over the proposed increase in Chinalco’s stake in Rio Tinto has once again highlighted concerns about the role of Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the Australian resources... Read More
India should have been on Clinton’s Asia itinerary
There is excitement throughout Asia over Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s choice of the continent for her maiden international voyage in her capacity as America’s top diplomat, bypassing the more... Read More
Hilary Clinton’s India snub could be a mistake
There is excitement throughout Asia over Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s choice of the continent for her maiden international voyage in her capacity as America’s top diplomat, bypassing the more... Read More
Allies wary of focus on China
Secretary Clinton needs to bring America’s allies with her and not move ahead of them. Read More
Why China fears Obama: The danger of an attractive America
The enthusiasm with which Obama’s election was received in Europe will not be replicated in China. Read More
Over-governed China is the worst governed
China may have one official for every 35 people but this does not mean that it is building institutions that encourage public accountability. Read More
China needs a new way
The Year of the Ox will bring little prosperity for the Chinese people. Read More
The Year of the Ox will bring little prosperity for the Chinese
Beijing's “authoritarian capitalist” model has gone as far as it can. Chaos, corruption and indecision have been ignored. Read More
Double-edged sword in Obama’s use of technology
The reliance on social networking technology will leave Obama vulnerable in 2012. Read More
How China bought its graduates' loyalty
Attend a dinner party with a random sample of China’s 5 million university graduates each year and in many respects they will be virtually indistinguishable from counterparts in Britain. Chinese graduates... Read More
Why Obama must look to the Pacific before the Atlantic
It is significant that the election of Barack Obama as president of the United States was greeted most warmly by Europeans. The Democrats tend to be the party of the Atlantic and the Republicans the party... Read More
Beijing’s stimulus may not help its struggling consumption donkey
China likes to think big. It has the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, and now a mind-boggling US$600 billion economic stimulus package. This is the latest response by an increasingly anxious government in... Read More
Should Australia moderate between the US and China?
Ever since the election of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, editorials in China’s state-sponsored media have been increasingly pushing the line that Australia should play the role of a ‘bridge’ between... Read More
Land reforms fall short for China farmers
With America and Europe facing the likely prospect of deep recession, Asia is looking to China’s potentially huge consumer market as its savior. This is why many are applauding Beijing’s proposed rural... Read More
Why China wants to win
Sending a man to the moon was once old news, but not anymore. A space race is occurring between Asia's giants - China, India, Japan and even South Korea - and China desperately wants to win. For the Chinese,... Read More
Why McCain will be a better ally for Malaysia
The common wisdom is that a Barack Obama presidency will be better news for Malaysia and Southeast Asia than a John McCain presidency. After all, Obama fondly recalls the four formative years he spent... Read More
Why McCain will be a better ally for Malaysia
The common wisdom is that a Barack Obama presidency will be better news for Indonesia and Southeast Asia than a John McCain presidency. After all, Obama fondly recalls the four formative years he spent... Read More
Plight of Chinese peasants could worsen
With the current financial crisis spreading throughout the world, most economists believe more than ever that global economic growth would be much more balanced if consumption levels in Asia rise. Read More
State government gravy train is on the wrong track
There are lots of people scratching their heads trying to understand how publicly listed companies owned by savvy shareholders, could allow managers to take their money, use it recklessly, then pay themselves... Read More
Tainted Milk Is Part Of A Bigger Problem For Chinese Civil Society
The tainted milk scandal in China – with four deaths and 54,000 children ill and rising – exposes a glaring contradiction about Chinese civil society: despite having more public officials per capita... Read More
The Pacific has two different faces
The new guest worker scheme announced by the Australian Government on Monday is being billed by many Pacific governments, aid organisations and the World Bank as a development policy to displace the demonstrable... Read More
Pacific guests invited over our unemployed
The announcement that Australia is inaugurating a 'guest worker' scheme for Pacific islanders to pick fruit in Australia will earn Prime Minister Rudd a warm welcome at the Pacific Island Forum meeting... Read More
The Pacific is a crime bomb and needs economic reform
The new ‘guest worker’ scheme is being billed by many Pacific governments, aid organisations and The World Bank as a development policy to displace the demonstrable failure of aid. Will it be enough... Read More
Migration scheme won’t solve Pacific’s problems
It wouldn’t be polite to say so at the Forum meeting in Nuie this week, but there is trouble brewing in the South Pacific. Conflict in the Solomon Islands, coups in Fiji, murders by raskol gangs in... Read More
Good policy better than guest work for neighbours
The announcement that Australia is inaugurating a ‘guest worker’ scheme for Pacific islanders to pick fruit in Australia will earn Prime Minister Rudd a warm welcome at the Pacific Island Forum meeting... Read More
Blighty-style re-education
Arriving at Heathrow after nine years living in Australia, we dug out our British passports and joined our fellow German, Italian, Spanish and Irish Euro-citizens in the European Union queue at passport... Read More
Defend the individual and so the West
Thinkers of the Enlightenment, a set of new intellectual attitudes that remade Western culture in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, set out to understand the world and themselves through reason... Read More
Happy Anniversary RAMSI
Five years ago today, Australia embarked on one of its most ambitious foreign policy exercises in recent years when it led the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands. RAMSI, comprising of... Read More
EU’s Disdain for Voters
Whenever voters reject a proposal put forward by Europe’s political elite, they either get ignored, or they are told to vote again until they get it right – just like in Zimbabwe’s democracy. Read More
The Myth of OPEC
OPEC has long been considered an economic boogey man terrorizing economies all over the world. When politicians fret that oil prices are rising too high too fast, it is OPEC that they run to for relief.... Read More
Why China’s loyal youth no longer want democracy
In the last two decades, China’s economy has tripled in size. The numbers of young, relatively affluent people (15–25 years) number around 17–20 million, almost the size of Australia’s population.... Read More
‘China’s unbalanced economy providing silver lining
Chinese leaders and economists have been saying for a decade that its economy is pulled by two strong horses and one weak donkey. China is much too reliant on unsustainably high levels of (inefficient)... Read More
Democracy’s slowboat to China getting slower
Figures released suggest that in early 2009, there will be over 200 million Internet users in China which will be more than in the US. It is not just about the numbers of Chinese going online. Everything... Read More
Bachelors wreaking havoc in China
China’s leaders seem to be good at fixing big problems. They have transformed a backward economy into perhaps the most dynamic one in the world. More recently, their response to the earthquake in Sichuan... Read More
Why RAMSI should stay
Now into its fifth year and with no exit strategy in sight, questions are beginning to be asked about the future of the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI). Should... Read More
A rotting core: the other side of China’s miracle
Ask many Chinese parents (like mine) anywhere in the world what they wanted their kids to be when they grow up and the chances are that they will say a ‘doctor’ – the medical kind of course rather... Read More
Competition and free trade key to prosperity
The Swedish economy has often been compared with a bumblebee, whose ability to fly can only be explained by its ignorance of aerodynamics and physics. Proponents of the Swedish model claim Sweden is proof... Read More
Tibetan monks fuelling Beijing's paranoia
When the monks in Burma led protests against the military junta last September, China initially reacted by making the usual call for ‘calm’ and ‘restraint’ from all sides. As those protests escalated... Read More
Solomon Islands - resurrected but not reformed
When the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands was launched in 2003, it marked a turning point for Australia's relationship with the Pacific islands. After years of trying to assist development... Read More
Tough love key to Nauru's future
The Rudd Government has an unparalleled opportunity to make a contribution to the evolution of real solutions for small Pacific islands by removing the asylum seekers facility that delivers 20% of Nauru’s... Read More
Solomons Islands: Resurrected, not reformed
The Solomon Islands are today one of the poorest and least developed countries in the South Pacific. The islands are richly endowed with volcanic soils, marine resources, timber and minerals and well located... Read More
A contrarian view of the economic miracle
In Will China Fail? The Limits and Contradictions of Market Socialism, author John Lee takes on the growing parade of China experts who offer optimistic scenarios for the nation’s ‘peaceful rise’... Read More
International attention has been scathing of Papua New Guinea
International attention has been scathing of Papua New Guinea after revelations some HIV/AIDS victims have been buried alive by relatives unable or too afraid to care for them. The National Aids Council... Read More
Elections should be a way of holding political leaders to account for their actions
It is a measure of the dysfunction of Papua New Guinea that elections marred by disenfranchised voters, fraud, criminal MPs and violence could still be reliably labelled as successful by the government... Read More
Is Asia in need of Australian aid more than the Pacific?
Eyebrows were raised in the Pacific this month as Indonesia displaced Papua New Guinea as the largest recipient of Australian aid in this year's federal budget. East Asia, with its hundreds of millions... Read More
All shoulders to the wheel
A visitor to Chimbu Province in Papua New Guinea would have watched in stunned surprise last month, as thousands of villagers picked up their farming tools to build a feeder road to link their communities... Read More
Japan caught in US-Korea nuclear net
The deal struck in Beijing this week, which is supposed to end up in the denuclearisation of North Korea, is no cause for celebration. To the contrary, it is likely to detract from Australia's security. Read More
Why China first wooed then jilted Kiribati
The news that a Chinese missile shot down an old satellite has made headlines around the world. The successful strike confirms that China is well on the way to developing a space-warfare capability. Less... Read More
Seasonal migration is not a solution
The World Bank recently joined a growing list of organisations putting pressure on the Government to open its doors to unskilled guest workers for fruit picking and processing. Read More
The real priorities
A Mayor has a $10million surplus, which he wants to allocate to a good cause. Ten groups clamour for the cash. One wants to buy new computers for an inner-city high school. Another hopes to beautify a... Read More
Vanutatu’s failures propped up again
Vanuatu is no stranger to aid. Since independence in 1980 the Pacific island country has received more than $2 billion in assistance. Indeed, when it comes to finding appropriate aid programs, few appropriate... Read More
US aid group throws Vanuatu's privileged political elite a lifeline
Vanuatu (population 200,000) has been generously supported by aid in cash and technical assistance since its independence in 1980 by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Asian Development... Read More
Finding ways to tame the new giant
The main element driving security development in North Asia is the rapid pace of China 's strategic force modernisation. This is increasing insecurity in Japan and Taiwan , with unpredictable consequences.... Read More
US should reconsider financial aid for Vanuatu
Vanuatu is among a select group of countries eligible for hundreds of millions of dollars in assistance through the millennium challenge account (MCA) in 2006. The MCA is a United States government aid... Read More
Pacific aid policy must indeed be based on facts
Australia is the leading aid donor in the Pacific, taking its responsibility to its neighbours seriously. Three years ago The Centre for Independent Studies focussed attention on the Pacific because, in... Read More
Nose cut off to spite the face
The withdrawal of the Australian police, following the Papua New Guinean Supreme Court ruling that the immunity essential to their operations was unconstitutional, is a disaster for the people of Papua... Read More
High price for a bruised ego
For the second time in little more than a year the Papua New Guinean Prime Minister, Michael Somare, has found a pretext to thwart Australia's five-year $800 million Enhanced Co-operation Program. Read More
Action needed on al-Qa'ida's hiding place
The devastation in Asia caused by the tsunami has understandably overshadowed the horrors being perpetrated by the Janjaweed militia in Darfur and the equally shameful failure of the Sudanese Government... Read More
Only harsh medicine can save Nauru
Nauru is an isolated 21 sq km Pacific island, more than 3,500 kms from Brisbane. In 1963, while still administered by Australia, it gained the world price for its phosphate, giving it one of the highest... Read More
Only internal reform can rescue a stagnant PNG
Papua New Guinea's GDP growth, with good weather and high mineral export prices, is still only barely above population growth, so that living standards continue to stagnate. Mineral and timber exports... Read More
Germans bogged down in Red-Green quagmire
Australians, who are confused by the challenges of globalisation, innovation, ageing and the need to reform economic and political institutions, can learn a lot by looking at present-day Germany where... Read More
Expect fallout here as our neighbour falls apart
With the impending war on Iraq and growing tensions on the Korean Peninsula understandably dominating media headlines, economic decline and government collapse in Australia's closest and largest neighbour,... Read More
We must dance with the devil
IN the wake of the Bali bombing, it is imperative that we think clearly and, if necessary, coldly, about what the national interest requires with respect to Indonesia. Read More
Lucky country for sale
The Australian government has stepped up immigration and we continue our generous intake of genuine refugees. Both is in the national interest. Yet, public opinion has turned sceptical about mass immigration... Read More
PNG in need for much more than money
Papua New Guinea has become a dysfunctional state. Per capita income is falling, public services are non existent and robbery, rape and murder occur every day. A least thirty people were killed during... Read More
Third World aid: is it part of the solution or the problem?
Heads of government and ministers met at the United Nations headquarters in New York during the week to try to answer the question. Helen Hughes, a senior fellow at the Centre of Independent Studies, argues... Read More
Turning on axis distorts aim: The US should exercise restraint and prudence in its mission against the evils of terrorism
As far as American foreign policy is concerned, there have been, and still are, two very different traditions existing alongside each other: realism and American exceptionalism. Read More
Be a realist, not a lap dog: A cooling off period will improve ties with indonesia
Ours is an age that believes in action. Faced with a problem, virtually any problem, the demand is that someone—and these days it is invariably the state—should act immediately. Action is evidence... Read More
A reminder of darker times
It has been said that those who lack the imagination of disaster are doomed to be surprised by the world. Many people have been so surprised by the awful happenings of this week, brought home to us –... Read More
Time to reconsider our US ties
You win one, you lose one. Immediately after coming out of the Tampa affair well ahead politically, John Howard found that the main purpose of his trip to Washington - the negotiation of an agreement on... Read More
Gulliver Unbound: Can American Rule of World?
In this lecture, Josef Joffe asks if the US can sustain this position of power in international politics. World history suggests no, as power always begets counter power, with signs of the US dominance... Read More