This has been such an extraordinary period. And what we are facing next in foreign policy is so difficult that we will need all the resources we can muster to shape it.

This week in Australian foreign affairs: the Declaration Against the Use of Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations, Payne’s statement on Sean Turnell, and more.

The conclusion of RCEP does not highlight the vital role Japan played as an interlocutor for the negotiating members. Japan’s geo-economic strategy will continue to shape the future of regional trade and investment architecture.

In 2019, the Indian government imposed a lockdown on Kashmir with no phone connection and no internet service. The impact on the health, education, and economy of this once prosperous Indian state has been massive.

It’s now been more than two weeks since General Min Aung Hlaing instigated the military coup in Myanmar. At the vanguard of the evolving “social opposition” is Generation Z.

Australia’s proposed news media code highlights tensions between self-interest, the needs of democratic media, and new challenges to laissez-faire regulation of transnational firms. This action will highlight the market power, privacy failings, and democratic implications of digital giants. 

In response to the Australian government’s media bargaining legislation proposal, Google and Facebook have threatened to cut off Australia from their search engines. This has prompted questions regarding the scope for international law to protect Australia from these threats.

The Chinese government has produced statements alleging academic and journalistic misconduct for reporting on the Xianjing camps home to an estimated one million Uighur Muslims and other minorities. To determine the reliability of this discourse, this article will examine the previously uncontested body of literature and reports on Uighur treatment.

The International Criminal Court’s Pre-Trial Chamber has determined jurisdiction to investigate Israel and Palestine for events in the West Bank and Gaza. This has sparked debate not only about jurisdiction, but whether the ICC is genuinely serving as a court of last resort reserved for the most serious mass crimes.

The dominant narrative in Southeast Asia is that China is drawing all the region’s states into its sphere of influence. Professor David Shambaugh challenges this view, arguing that the US is an underappreciated power in Southeast Asia, while China is an overestimated one.