This Month
- Updated
- Russia-Ukraine war
Ukraine will soon fire missiles 300km into Russia after US clearance
The US president has reversed his policy in the Russia-Ukraine war as Donald Trump takes over the Oval Office in two months.
- Updated
- Mike Stone and Humeyra Pamuk
Russian, North Korean troops mass ahead of Ukraine attack, says US
New analysis concludes that the force has been gathered without pulling soldiers out of Ukraine’s east, allowing Moscow to press on multiple fronts.
- Julian E. Barnes, Eric Schmitt and Michael Schwirtz
Ukraine says it has attacked North Korean troops
The first contact has been reported with North Korean troops in a Russian region captured by Kyiv in their surprise offensive.
- Christopher Miller and Max Seddon
North Korean intercontinental missile launch condemned by US, Japan
The isolationist regime said it tested an ICBM on Thursday, upgrading what it called the “world’s most powerful strategic weapon”.
- Reuters
October
Japan’s China paradox has lessons for Australia
Japan’s new prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, wants a more equal relationship with the US. That could spell trouble as Tokyo confronts the “deep threat” from China.
- James Curran
September
China tests ballistic missile in Pacific in ‘provocative’ move
China fired an intercontinental ballistic missile with a dummy warhead into the Pacific Ocean, its first such major missile launch in years.
- Alistair Gale
- Exclusive
- Russia-Ukraine war
Why ‘paranoid’ Russia’s ties with China should worry Australia
Democracies including Australia need to band together against the ‘community of autocracies’ of Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, one of NATO’s top officials says.
- Andrew Tillett
August
Push into Russia is to create a buffer zone: Zelensky
The incursion has proven Ukraine’s ability to seize the initiative and has boosted its morale, which was sapped by a failed counter-offensive last year.
- Robyn Dixon
- Analysis
- North Korea diplomacy
On the front line of North Korea’s nuclear threat
The possibility of another Trump presidency has global leaders nervous about Kim Jong-un’s erratic behaviour. Would a second mandate tame or embolden “little rocket man”.
- Updated
- Jessica Sier
July
Wong calls on China to rein in North Korea
The foreign minister acknowledged that countries all around Asia are beefing up their defence capabilities in response to China’s dramatic military expansion.
- Staff reporters
US boosts military command in Japan amid ‘provocative’ China
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin says an upgrade to the US command in Japan is “one of the most significant developments in the history of our alliance”.
- Updated
- Mari Yamaguchi
Japan must strengthen NATO ties to safeguard global peace, PM says
Fumio Kishida also signalled concern over Beijing’s alleged role in aiding Moscow’s two-year-old war in Ukraine, although he did not name China.
- Yukiko Toyoda and John Geddie
June
- Opinion
- Putin's Russia
Putin to Xi: I have options in East Asia
The Russian President’s visits last week to North Korea and Vietnam shows Russia’s residual capacity to stir trouble in East Asia.
- James Curran
Putin and Kim sign mutual defence pact
The pact could be a dramatic shift in the strategic balance in Northeast Asia by placing Russia’s heft behind North Korea.
- Josh Smith and Ju-min Park
Kim vows ‘full support’ for Putin’s war
The Russian president arrived for his first visit to the DPRK in 24 years, amid warnings of more arms transfers to Moscow for its war in Ukraine.
- Kim Tong-Hyung
Putin vows trade, security with North Korea
The Russian president pledged his unwavering support in a letter published by North Korean state media on Tuesday ahead of his planned visit to the country.
- Hyonhee Shin and Josh Smith
May
China hails ‘new beginning’ with US-allied South Korea, Japan
China, South Korea and Japan are trying to manage mutual distrust amid the rivalry between Beijing and Washington, and tensions over Taiwan.
- Hyonhee Shin
China in high-stakes summit with Japan, South Korea
China and its US-allied neighbours are important trading partners to one another, and their cooperation is key to promoting regional peace and prosperity.
- Soo-Hyang Choi and Yoshiaki Nohara
- Opinion
- Iran
President’s death shows an Iran with few cards left to play
The death of president Ebrahim Raisi opens the way for a dynastic succession to Iran’s supreme leadership. The regime’s chief goal now is protecting the status quo.
- Patrick Gibbons
- Opinion
- South China Sea
China’s grim pattern in South China Sea needs a collective response
A quiet tussle is going on over China’s ambitions to control all of its neighbouring seas. Affected countries need to unite before China miscalculates.
- Jennifer Parker