November 2024
What schoolies revellers need to know about methanol
Errol Baker says his daughter is lucky to be alive life after she was poisoned by methanol on a schoolies trip to Bali. He and experts offers tips on reducing the risks.
- James Hall
‘Don’t drink spirits’: The sobering reality of methanol poisoning
In Asia, methanol poisoning is surprisingly common. This is why it is so dangerous, how to steer clear, and what to do if you get unlucky.
- Andrew Burke
SE Asian defence chiefs in security talks with US, China
The closed-door talks put US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun in the same room a day after a snub at ASEAN.
- Jintamas Saksornchai
October 2024
- Opinion
- Political leadership
Anthony Albanese has yet to grow into the prime minister’s job
The prime minister is a political operator rather than a visionary. His inability to persuade and sustain arguments is beginning to show.
- James Curran
Albanese to press China on trade
The Association of South-East Asian Nations leaders’ summit will take place in Vientiane, Laos this week, the latest international push by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
- Tom McIlroy
July 2024
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
May 2024
- Opinion
- University
International students show our statecraft missing in action
Educating the region’s high-flyers is a major source of soft power for Australia. But we are in danger of taking it for granted.
- Susannah Patton
Russia not looking for global power clash: Putin
Vladimir Putin now casts the war as part of a holy struggle with the West, which he says has forgotten the role played by the Soviet Union in defeating Nazi Germany.
- Updated
- Guy Faulconbridge
March 2024
- Analysis
- ASEAN
Sense of urgency as Australia finds its true international identity
There is a meaning to be extracted from the ASEAN summit for Australia’s international identity.
- James Curran
November 2023
- Analysis
- Vale
Kissinger’s advice to aspiring leaders still holds
The arch foreign policy realist both intrigued and infuriated those around him and so many who have tried to assess his legacy.
- James Curran
At this oasis in Laos, you get your own plunge pool and butterflies
The centuries-old town of Luang Prabang was once known only to backpackers and Buddhists. Luxury boutique hotels have put it on the map.
- Trudy Harris
October 2023
Unwind on a Mekong River cruise: an ex-monk will show you how
Leave Western cares behind on this voyage into Asia’s lush Golden Triangle in Laos. Downing home-made whisky with a village elder is optional.
- Trudy Harris
January 2023
- Opinion
- Renewables
Sun Cable was a colossus that collapsed under its own weight
It wasn’t just the giant egos in the power project. It was economics, engineering and physics too gigantic to stack up.
- Matthew Warren
September 2022
China growth to fall behind rest of Asia for first time since 1990
The World Bank has revised down its forecast for gross domestic product growth in the world’s second-largest economy to 2.8 per cent, compared with 8.1 per cent last year.
- Edward White and Mercedes Ruehl
July 2022
Can the West dismantle China’s pan-Asian railway dream?
Fast train plans are a concern for Western nations worried about China’s growing influence in the region. There is something awfully permanent about a train line once it’s in.
- Emma Connors
October 2021
Wuhan and US team planned to engineer new virus
Leaked documents reveal the international team of scientists was planning to mix genetic data of closely related strains, and grow new viruses.
- Sarah Knapton
May 2021
- Opinion
- Myanmar coup
ASEAN is yet to shine on Myanmar
It was immediately apparent in the aftermath of the February coup how much was at stake for ASEAN’s relevance and credibility. As violence continues on the streets, this remains the case.
- Liam Gammon
March 2021
- Opinion
- Asia-Pacific
All risk, few options in Myanmar
The coup in Myanmar will weaken ASEAN just when outsiders want it to look solid in an era of big-power competition.
- Ben Bland
October 2020
- Opinion
- World politics
ASEAN feels pinch of big-power rivalry
In the midst of China's growing power and Trump's critical view of it, ASEAN is reasserting its relevance as a rallying point for nations in the region.
- Peter Drysdale
September 2020
Asia summits kick off amid China tensions
Russia, Japan, Australia, South Korea and India are among those remotely joining an event hosted by Vietnam that will include a 27-nation security forum, as concern grows about rhetoric and accidental conflict.
- James Pearson and Khanh Vu