Oceania

Japan is in lockstep with Australia on China.
Opinion

Australia can learn from Tokyo's smarter approach to China

Japan has played its Beijing cards more intelligently than Canberra

5 January 2022
The JS Shiranui destroyer takes part in the Malabar naval exercises in 2021. (Photo courtesy of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force)
Interview

Japan needs more offensive firepower for deterrence: Patrick Cronin

Hudson Institute analyst sees vital role for Tokyo in peace across Taiwan Strait

5 January 2022
Elections in Asia this year will be an important test of several countries' political mood and institutions.
Asia Insight

From Philippines to South Korea: A guide to a busy election year

Democracy under pressure in Asia as pendulum swings toward authoritarianism

4 January 2022
Growing up in Australia, Chan became fascinated by "odd sounds and textures," as well as the "deeper and richer sonic palette" offered by electronic music, as well as contemporary music-making and recording techniques.
Arts

Rainbow Chan's sounds of then

Sydney-based artist's new album "Stanley" pays homage to Hong Kong

3 January 2022
Cortical Labs is attempting to harness the power of human brain cells to make computer chips far more powerful and efficient. (Photos courtesy of Cortical Labs) 
Business Spotlight

Brains on a chip: Why startups are combining cells and silicon

Australia's Cortical Labs is working on 'holy grail' of AI: general intelligence

31 December 2021
"Pig-butchering" swindles, long run in the Chinese language, are targeted increasingly at Anglophone residents of nations in Asia and beyond, including in Europe, the U.S. and Australia. (Source photo by AP and screenshot from victim's WhatsApp message)
Society

Victims in Asia, Europe and U.S. fight back against online romance scams

Volunteer group says criminal networks originally from China target people abroad

31 December 2021
A projector image shows immunofluorescence staining of cells infected with the omicron coronavirus strain in Hong Kong.
Coronavirus

Omicron: 5 things to know as studies lift hopes for milder disease

After a month of rapid global spread, experts warn against complacency

30 December 2021
Fresh produce sold at the Efate Port Vila Market in Vanuatu, one of the four Pacific island nations considering issuing a digital currency. (Photo courtesy of the Asian Development Bank) 
Cryptocurrencies

Pacific island nations probe digital currencies with Tokyo startup

Soramitsu to run feasibility studies in Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu

29 December 2021
A medical worker administers tests at a drive-through COVID-19 testing center in Sydney on Dec. 22.
Coronavirus

Australia COVID infections hit high as omicron strains politics

Over 11,000 new cases, mandatory self-isolation threaten reopening plans

28 December 2021
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has likened wearing a mask to "slapping on the hat and slapping on the sunscreen."
Coronavirus

Omicron spells new test for Morrison ahead of Australia election

PM stresses 'personal responsibility' over lockdowns as cases set records

25 December 2021
From left, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, then-Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi after a "two-plus-two" meeting in Tokyo in March.
International relations

Japan and U.S. to move 2+2 security talks online over omicron

Kishida weighs trips to Australia and India as hope for Biden summit recedes

25 December 2021
An Australian solar power facility: Some plans for large-scale renewable energy are meeting resistance from farmers concerned about infrastructure cutting across prime agricultural land.
Environment

Australia's net-zero goal spotlights green energy land conflicts

Farmer resistance, scattered private projects complicate renewables expansion

23 December 2021
A Rincon Mining employee takes a sample at a lithium plant in Argentina. Rio Tinto will acquire Rincon's project for $825 million.
Business deals

Rio Tinto's $825m Argentina lithium deal extends battery push

Agreement follows $2.4bn decision to buy Serbian lithium project

23 December 2021
A woman signs before voting in a referendum in Noumea, New Caledonia, on Dec.12: France has reinforced a feeling of contempt toward the Kanak people.
Opinion

New Caledonia's Kanak people will never lose hope

The flame of self-determination cannot be extinguished

22 December 2021
The Science of Fiction, a hybrid film-screening event held at Indus. Evening events like these were popular among Jakartan creatives who traveled to Bali for the festival. (Photo by Felix Rio)
Arts

Bali's big little book festival goes hybrid

Online events keep Southeast Asia's largest festival of words and ideas alive

21 December 2021
The open pit mine of Molycorp's Mountain Pass rare earth facility in California, pictured in September 2009: the U.S. cannot make the same mistake again.
Opinion

Breaking China's grip on rare earths should be an AUKUS mission

Beijing has too much control over critical materials vital to advanced technology

20 December 2021
In their recent book, co-authors Henry Reynolds and Nicholas Clements argue that Tasmanian Aboriginal leader Tongerlongeter is a war hero worthy of a place in the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. The image on the right depicts Tasmanian Aboriginal fighters attacking a shepherd's hut. (Cover image courtesy of the publisher)
Arts

Book review: Reevaluating Australia's dark history

Aboriginal leader emerges as resistance hero of Tasmania's forgotten war

17 December 2021
Ministers and delegates of the Pacific Rim trade bloc attend a joint press conference in Tokyo in January 2019: current CPTPP members should proactively lobby the U.S. to join the trade agreement.
Opinion

U.S. must rethink its approach to a flexible and inclusive Indo-Pacific

Washington needs to properly anchor itself into regional frameworks

14 December 2021
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, left, and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison are flanked by representatives of Hanwha Group and members of the Australian Defence Force during a signing ceremony in Canberra on Monday.
International relations

South Korea, Australia sign $930m deal to build howitzer plant

Moon, Morrison agree to cooperate on defense, supply chains at summit

13 December 2021
A person votes in a referendum in Noumea, New Caledonia, on Sunday to decide whether to break away from France.
12 December 2021
Japanese tech company Hitachi will install IoT devices, such as sensors, at a banana farm in Australia to help it raise its efficiency and productivity. (Photo courtesy of the company)
Agriculture

Hitachi tech tools bring Australian banana into digital era

Company applies IoT and AI to raise output, improve distribution

12 December 2021
Woodside has natural gas partnerships with several Japanese companies in the North West Shelf project, off the northwestern coast of Australia. (Photo courtesy of Woodside)
Interview

Australia's Woodside aims to start up massive hydrogen plant in 2027: CEO

Meg O'Neill says Japanese companies are 'absolutely' a possibility as joint venture partners

11 December 2021
Sunday's referendum in New Caledonia is the final of three votes on gaining independence from France. A split was rejected in the first two plebiscites.
Asia Insight

China looms over New Caledonia vote on independence from France

Most indigenous Kanaks favor a split, but European residents tend to favor status quo

7 December 2021
The Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank, says the U.S. increased its influence in Asia this year, but warns of a grater risk of war as tensions between Washington and Beijing rise.
US-China tensions

China loses path to 'undisputed primacy' in Asia as U.S. rebounds

Lowy's Asia Power Index shows Beijing's ongoing challenge to Washington

5 December 2021
Actor David Gulpilil, who died on November 29, pictured here in 2005 as part of a new production of "Walkabout" in which he first starred in as a 15-year-old.
Obituaries

Indigenous icon David Gulpilil leaves indelible cinematic legacy

Actor remembered as one of the greatest Australia has produced

4 December 2021