Asia has a geographical reach and cultural diversity unlike any other continent. It stretches east from Turkey’s Bosporus to the shores of Hawaii and south from the Russian Far East to the southern tip of East Timor, or to Antarctica if we want to take in Australia and New Zealand. Unlike with Europe, there is […]
Read MoreRecent reports
Recent reports by Humphrey Hawksley for the BBC, YaleGlobal Online, Asian Affairs, and Nikkei Asian Review.
ABC Australia interview on Late Night Live
China’s rapid expansion into the South China Sea has been a global flashpoint since 2012, after a confrontation with the Philippines over the Scarborough Shoal fishing reef. However, tensions over the disputed territories extend well into the previous century. And China’s expansion is rooted in its understanding of its 5000 year old history. As China […]
Read MoreIndo-Pacific will be no pushover for China
Pity China and how swiftly the glittering beacon of its world vision has dimmed! Barely a year ago, the Beijing bankrolled Belt and Road Initiative to modernise the world with new infrastructure was capturing a global imagination. Every country, however weak and corrupt, could dream of its own cityscape skyline and high-speed railway, as long […]
Read MoreAsian Values
A quarter of a century ago, an 18-year-old American student living in Singapore was sentenced to six strokes of the cane for writing graffiti on cars and stealing road signs. The United States protested the sentence’s severity, arguing Michael Fay’s punishment was too harsh for a teenage prank with no violent crime committed. Fay’s case […]
Read MorePushback against China is on
Humphrey Hawksley tells Beverley O’Connor some smaller countries are starting to push back against China when it comes to its South China Sea ambitions. […]
Read MoreA US-led Indo-Pacific alliance against China is an outdated idea
The scheduled visit by the U.S. secretaries of defense and state to India on Sept. 6 highlights Washington’s latest attempt to create a strategic Asian alliance strong enough to counter the growing influence of China. But is the unformulated plan for a “free and open Indo-Pacific” — promoted by officials from President Donald Trump down […]
Read MoreHarrowing and beautiful Northeast India
Sanjoy Hazarika is a frustrated and restless native of the tea-growing state of Assam, and a highly respected human rights activist who wrestled for years over how he should write a book about his homeland. The result is a captivating analysis of a critically important area, not only of India, but also of Asia and […]
Read MoreThe West’s failure to reform threatens world order
Two years ago, China and Russia issued a joint declaration with the aim of throwing out an open challenge to the current US-led world order. Coming after Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and a court ruling against Beijing’s claim to the South China Sea, the two governments announced bluntly in June 2016 that they would enhance […]
Read MoreEurope must resist the lure of Chinese money
The attempt by China’s Three Gorges to take control of Portugal’s energy group, Energias de Portugal, highlights Beijing’s accelerating campaign to invest in Europe — and a growing push from the European Union to hold back the financial onslaught. The state-owned conglomerate, which is already the largest EDP shareholder with a 23% stake, had its […]
Read MoreIndia’s role in reshaping the Commonwealth
After months of planning that required the most choreographed of diplomatic skills, Britain hosted a lavish visit in April for the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, followed by a summit for the 53-member Commonwealth, a large international grouping that comprises a bygone colonial power and those it had once colonised. At first glance, not much […]
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