Australia
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China’s rebuke of Julie Bishop ‘rudest’ conduct seen in 30 years, says senior foreign affairs official
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in December last year. The Chinese minister critised Ms Bishop over her handling of China’s air defence in the East China Sea. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in December last year. The Chinese minister critised Ms Bishop over her handling […]
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Troubled Waters: Indonesia’s Growing Maritime Disputes
Indonesia has had a rocky couple of weeks in its relations with its neighbors. While Ted Piccone and Bimo Yusman wrote last week about Indonesia’s decade of qualified diplomatic successes, in a series of separate and mostly unrelated naval developments the archipelagic nation has in turn aggrieved, or been aggrieved by, Singapore, Papua New Guinea, […]
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China’s naval exercise: Jakarta Post story raises new questions
China’s Indo-Pacific naval exercise, which I first analysed in this post, is continuing to make waves, with David Wroe of the Sydney Morning Herald providing this good wrap-up on the implications for Australia. But what are we to make of the latest twist being reported in the Jakarta Post? The report quotes an Indonesian military […]
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Australia Startled by Chinese Naval Excursion
The Australian public is being reminded of Indonesia’s importance to the country’s foreign and defence policy—past, present and future. Last Thursday, many Australian viewers switched their televisions over to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in an attempt to escape from the media frenzy surrounding the release of Australian citizen Schapelle Corby from prison in Indonesia. They found […]
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Australia scrambles planes in response to Chinese warships near Australian waters
Australia scrambled an air force surveillance plane earlier this month to monitor an unannounced Chinese military exercise that took the emerging superpower’s ships closer to Australian territory than ever before. In what observers say is a significant strategic development, China carried out combat simulations at the beginning of the month between Christmas Island and Indonesia […]
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The Philippines’ Search for Strategic Partners
The Philippines also offered to boost ties with Australia to the level of a strategic partnership, with President Aquino saying that it is “high time” for two countries that “have shared values, shared background, shared aspirations and perhaps also shared problems” to step up cooperation. While Australia has yet to officially respond to this request, […]