How should Aotearoa respond to the Taiwan-China flashpoint?
By Alexander Gillespie The political temperature is rising in the South China Sea, and its effects will be felt in the South Pacific before long. Recent incursions by the Chinese air force into Taiwan’s air defence zone have ratcheted up already tense relations, with...
Will AUKUS halt China’s assertive foreign policy?
By Robert Patman If good strategy is about effectively relating means to ends, the recently announced trilateral security partnership Aukus – Australia, the UK, and the US – seems unlikely to fulfil expectations. A joint statement by its three leaders, guided by their...
Is AUKUS just ANZUS without New Zealand?
By Alexander Gillespie ANZUS without NZ? Why the new security pact between Australia, the UK and US might not be all it seems. We live, to borrow a phrase, in interesting times. The pandemic aside, relations between the superpowers are tense. The sudden arrival of the...
ANZUS at 70: What next for the alliance?
By Patricia A. O’Brien Together for decades, the US, Australia and New Zealand now face different challenges from China. Seventy years after the U.S., Australia and New Zealand signed a treaty committing them to defend one another and work together to ensure a...
How should we remember the Korean War?
By Stephen Hoadley Stephen Hoadley cautions New Zealanders to take into account the security risks – and the economic opportunities – presented by the fragile inter-Korean armistice, and to be aware of the shifting power balances of the East Asian region....
What is going on in Samoa?
By Patricia A. O’Brien Samoan democracy hangs in the balance as a constitutional arm wrestle plays out — with the world watching. New battlelines in Samoa’s ongoing political crisis were drawn this week. After an evening swearing-in ceremony on the lawn of...
Are China-US Relations deteriorating?
By Steve Hoadley China and the US will not agree on many points of policy. But on one point they will tacitly agree: their ongoing strategic rivalry must be carefully managed to avoid war. The answer to this Big Q is yes, China-US relations are deteriorating. But...
Is Taiwan a geopolitical flashpoint?
By Steve Hoadley It is hoped that moderation in Beijing, Washington, and Taipei will prevent the Taiwan flashpoint from igniting, says Steve Hoadley. Taiwan is more than an offshore island of China. It is also an armed flashpoint at the edge of a geopolitical frontier...
US and China are both raising the military stakes in the South China Sea
By Paul Rogers Perhaps the particular issue here lies not with direct risks in and around the South China Sea but back in Washington DC. In the run-up to November’s election, Donald Trump’s position looks increasingly fraught as his poll ratings slip. If he does...Subscribe by Email
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