Politics

China's aggressive and insulting diplomacy has united public opinion in Australia.
Opinion

We Australians face China's bullying insults with honor

Beijing has shown the world exactly what sort of great power it would be

30 December 2020
Rupert Murdoch, pictured in September 2017: his news media became an extremely influential force that Australia had not previously experienced.
Opinion

Why Rupert Murdoch is under heavy fire in his native land

Behind the battle roiling Australia's political and media landscapes

29 December 2020
Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison, pictured on Dec. 11: many countries are watching how his forthright approach to China plays out.
Opinion

Australia pays painful economic price for its China criticism

Business leaders jittery after Canberra's call for COVID inquiry

22 December 2020
Australia has "irritated" Beijing and caused it to "lose face," according to Canberra's former ambassador, who also says the spat shows "economic coercion is an important part of [China's] statecraft."
Interview

Ex-envoy to China says Australian 'no strategy' diplomacy misfires

Geoff Raby blames Canberra defense establishment for riling top trade partner

18 December 2020
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, left, and her new foreign minister, Nanaia Mahuta, face an increasingly challenging diplomatic landscape.
International relations

Australia-China divide forces New Zealand to 'straddle two worlds'

New foreign minister cuts her teeth as tensions -- and pressure to speak up -- build

14 December 2020
Australian military personnel stand guard during the Remembrance Day Service in Sydney.
Politics

Australia bolsters defenses against a growingly assertive China

Canberra cracks down on foreign deals and inks US arms project amid rising tensions

11 December 2020
Scott Morrison has had to reassure Chinese Australians that the falling out with China does not mean he does not love them.
Opinion

Australia loves China's money. What about its people?

Growing fears that Canberra has bungled ties with a vital trading partner

9 December 2020
Australian wines are displayed in Shanghai in November: Beijing's "anti-dumping" duties on the bottles are just one issue in a relationship that has turned increasingly frosty over the past year.
International relations

China-Australia clash: How it started and how it's going

As 'accumulation of mistrust' boils over, experts see plenty of blame to go around

9 December 2020
Biden has suggested three agenda items for his summit: fighting corruption, anti-authoritarianism, and human rights.
Opinion

Asia's wise heads are wrong to dismiss Biden's big idea

President-elect's democracy push is worth considering

9 December 2020
A passenger arrives from New Zealand after the Trans-Tasman travel bubble opened. Travelers outside the bubble are still largely banned.
Economy

Businesses push back on Australia and New Zealand travel bans

With low infection rates, companies say entry limits are too strict

8 December 2020
Chinese students in Sydney in June: The Chinese Australian community is caught between the two quarreling governments, while some fear the spat will dissuade international students from returning to Australia after COVID-19.
International relations

Chinese Australians feel heat from worsening diplomatic friction

As some chafe at questions of loyalty, others welcome scrutiny of Beijing

7 December 2020
The Quad ministerial meeting in Tokyo on Oct. 6: becoming an alliance with reciprocal obligations is much further down the line.
6 December 2020
A worker prepares imported iron ore for transport at a port in China's Jiangsu Province in 2019.
Economy

China helps fuel Australian economic recovery despite trade feud

Hunger for iron ore offsets Beijing's clampdown on other commodities for now

4 December 2020
Scott Morrison appears unlikely to change course.
Opinion

Australia's climate change denial will inflame China tensions

Beijing will punish Canberra for its stubborn refusal to take action

2 December 2020
Suga and Morrison should tell Beijing thanks but no thanks.
Opinion

China should not be allowed anywhere near the TPP

The only way Beijing enters Pacific trade deal is by watering it down to mediocrity

26 November 2020
A port in the Samoan capital of Apia: China is poised to help the island country redevelop another, well-located but disused port.
International relations

US and China leave Biden 'high stakes' inheritance in South Pacific

Washington lined up new ships as Beijing closed in on port before Election Day

23 November 2020
An Australian soldier in training: A report on alleged war crimes by Australian forces in Afghanistan is expected to lead to prosecutions.
Politics

Analysis: War crimes allegations stain Australia's reputation

'Disgraceful' conduct raises disturbing question of why brass failed to act earlier

23 November 2020
Rupert Murdoch's position is all about accumulating and exercising political power.
Opinion

Why I'm taking on Rupert Murdoch

Media campaign to deny climate change is harmful

22 November 2020
The problem for Scott Morrison is that China holds most of the cards.
Opinion

Australia's China problem will only get worse

Unlike the rest of Asia, Canberra seems to think the US will come to its rescue

20 November 2020
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, left, and Japanese counterpart Yoshihide Suga agreed on security cooperation for a "free, open" Indo-Pacific in Tuesday's summit.
Indo-Pacific

Japan and Australia reinforce Quad bond in message to Biden

US president-elect's Asia strategy has region on its toes

18 November 2020
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga bump elbows before a welcome ceremony in Tokyo on Nov. 17.
Indo-Pacific

Indo-Pacific partners Japan and Australia bolster defense ties

Suga-Morrison pact will streamline joint military exercises

18 November 2020
Morrison is prepared to spend two weeks in quarantine.
Opinion

Australia cements closer ties with Japan

Scott Morrison first foreign leader to call on Yoshihide Suga in person

17 November 2020
Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc chairs the 4th RCEP Summit on Nov. 15: the agreement is poised to become a critical platform for the discussion of trade and economic issues.
Opinion

RCEP agreement will transform trade in Asia, for Asia

First time China, Japan, and South Korea connected via one trade pact

16 November 2020
Leaders and trade ministers from the 15 Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership countries pose for a virtual group photo during the signing ceremony hosted by Vietnam on Nov. 15.
Trade

Asia forms world's largest trading bloc RCEP after years of talks

After signing, focus turns to ratification; China to hold sway in India's absence

16 November 2020
Queen Elizabeth II meets Scott Morrison and his wife Jennifer at Buckingham Palace in June 2019: the existence of monarchies in the 21st century is antithetical to democracy.
Opinion

Asia's monarchies are no longer earning their keep

Hereditary rule undermines humanity's relentless quest for equality

13 November 2020