Penny Wong: Rebuilding world orders with Australian multiculturalism

Written by Xuyang Dong

Australia is being remade into an active and helpful middle power in its region with its own agency, constructively and strategically navigating its presence in the geopolitics of growing China-US rivalry.

Pacific9DLMay 2, 20239DashLine, Penny Wong: Rebuilding world orders with Australian multiculturalism, Xuyang Dong, Penny Wong, Australia, multiculturalism, Anthony Albanese, Albanese Labor Government, Labor Party, Australian Labor Party, feminism, diversity, Malaysia, elite politics, representation, White Australia Policy, immigration, China, foreign policy, renewable energy, ‘shoe-leather' diplomacy, Southeast Asia, Pacific, First Nations, colonialism, First Nation foreign policy, British colonial history, balancing power, Liberal-National Coalition, United States, backyard, national interests, security pact, Solomon Islands, foreign aid, Beijing-Honiara security agreement, Morrison government, climate change, Blue Pacific, United Kingdom, British colonialism, Justin Mohamed, Ambassador for First Nations People, Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islanders, Hamish Fejo, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), indigenous peoples, Hugh White, empathy, cross-cultural, new world order, globalisation, middle power, geopolitics, China-US rivalry

Will the decision on Bougainville’s independence rupture Australia’s Pacific Family?

Written by Corey Lee Bell and Elena Collinson

The approaching milestone on Bougainville’s journey to independence could once again see China escalating its efforts.

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The Bougainville Autonomous Region: Balancing independence and foreign relations

Written by Dr Lucas Knotter

While it is tempting to view the relatively small island of Bougainville as merely drifting into the geopolitical whirlwinds of more powerful actors in the region, we should not forget that Bougainville also maintains considerable leverage in relation to these actors.

Pacific, Emerging Issues9DLJanuary 31, 20239dashline, Bougainville, Bougainville Autonomous Region, Lucas Knotter, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, APEC, Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific, FTAAP, Antony Blinken, Papua New Guinea, US, James Marape, China, Xi Jinping, Pacific islands, Pacific island states, trade partner, Friend to all; Enemy to None, PNG, China-US tensions, Autonomous Region of Bougainville, ARB, 2019 referendum, PNG-US-China geopolitics, sovereignty, 2001 Bougainville Peace Agreement, Ishmael Toroama, Era Kone Covenant, post-referendum agreements, Bougainville independence, international recognition, independence, Panguna copper mine, natural resources, anti-colonial struggles, Australia, mine workers, environmental destruction, Bougainville Civil War, Sam Kauona, Belt and Road Initiative, Solomon Islands, 2021 unrest, Beijing, Global Fragility Act, GFA, 2015 Bougainville Mining Act, Taipei, Sovereign Wealth Fund, Richard Marles, defence

2023: Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia — foreign policies between hegemons

With Australian elections ushering in a change of government and Aotearoa New Zealand’s planned parliamentary elections this year, 9DASHLINE sought the views of several experts on the state of both nations’ foreign and defence policies.

Pacific9DLJanuary 30, 20232023: Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia — foreign policies between hegemons, 9dashline, Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, New Zealand, China, United States, Australian elections, parliamentary elections, foreign and defence policies, geopolitics, NICHOLAS ROSS SMITH, Jacinda Ardern, trading partner, security relationship, middle-ground position, Wang Yi, NZ Labour Party, Wellington, National party, Christopher Luxon, putative Indo-Pacific ‘hedging’ strategy, MELISSA CONLEY TYLER, import restrictions, Prime Minister Albanese, President Xi, G20 Summit, China’s economic coercion, climate change policies, clean energy, Pacific Island countries, 2026 UN Conference of the Parties, JASON YOUNG, supply chain resilience, social cohesion, economic resilience, Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, Japan, United Kingdom, Partners in the Blue Pacific, President Biden, APEC Summit, China’s Covid restrictions, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s activities in the South China Sea, liberal-democratic Western bloc, Moscow, Beijing, geopolitical shatterbelt, Taiwan, Canberra, Tokyo, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Nanaia Mahuta, Free Trade Agreements (FTA), European Union, trade diversification, anti-nuclear advocacy

2023: The prospect of Pacific Island agency

9DASHLINE asks several experts for their assessment of the prospects for Pacific Island agency in 2023 international politics, especially beyond the 'big power influence' by the US and China that has so often been written about in 2022.

Pacific9DLJanuary 25, 20232023: The prospects of Pacific Island agency, 9DashLine, Pacific Islands, climate action, US-China competition for hegemony, Indo-Pacific security dynamics, big power influence, PRIESTLEY HABRU, heterogeneous, colonial, colonialism, great power competition, China, The Solomon Islands, Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, United Nations General Assembly, democracy, Taipei, Beijing, economic development, former Fiji Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, US President Joe Biden, US-Pacific Partnership Summit, Washington DC, Fiji, Sitiveni Rabuka, Australian Labor government, Australia, Pacific Island Forum (PIF), Suva, geopolitics, JOANNE WALLIS, UK, strategic competition, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone, climate change, Pacific Islands Forum’s ‘Blue Pacific’ narrative, Blue Pacific, ‘Partners in the Blue Pacific’ (PBP) initiative, New Zealand, Japan, MAIMA KORO, Samoa, US-Pacific Partnership Declaration, HENRIETTA MCNEILL, South Korea, European Union, Cook Islands, Niue, French territories, Micronesian states, 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent

2023: Where is Japan headed under Kishida?

9DASHLINE invited a select group of experts to assess how the Kishida administration’s policies on domestic, international, economic, and security issues will differ from the Abe administration.

Pacific9DLJanuary 20, 20239dashline, 2023: Where is Japan under Kishida headed?, DR JAMES D. BROWN, James DJ Brown, DR EVA PEJSOVA, EVA PEJSOVA, DR ELLI-KATHARINA POHLKAMP, ELLI-KATHARINA POHLKAMP, DR STEPHEN NAGY, Stephen Nagy, Japan, Fumio Kishida, Kishida, Abe, Shinzo Abe, Abe administration, approval ratings, Kishida administration, Abenomics, stimulatory economic policy, Japanese military, scandals, nepotism, free-market, new capitalism, security reforms, defence spending, strike missiles, public mood, dovish approach, foreign affairs, security affairs, Russia-Ukraine war, China’s expansionism, China, rules-based international order, US allies, security ties, deterrence, defence budget, nuclear non-proliferation, Taiwan, hostile security environment, geopolitical shocks, party politics, defence posture, Liberal Democratic Party, LDP, Chinese market, Unification Church investigations, National Security Strategy, G7 presidency, UN Security Council non-permanent seat, Tokyo, Sino-US rivalry, Yoshida Doctrine, US-Japan alliance, Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, CPTPP, Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement, EPA, Free and Open Indo-Pacific Vision, FOIP, strategic imperatives, domestic reform

2023: The future of the QUAD in the Indo-Pacific

As a reinvigorated Quad steps up its engagement, some observers have called for the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue to establish a permanent presence in the Indo-Pacific via a standing maritime force. But how viable is this idea?

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Inviting Indonesia to become the Quad’s inaugural strategic dialogue partner

Written by Ridvan Kilic

Ultimately, in order to secure its maritime boundary in the North Natuna Sea, Indonesia needs the support of like-minded strategic partners from the Quad more than ever.

Pacific9DLDecember 12, 20229DashLine, Inviting Indonesia to become the Quad’s Inaugural Strategic Dialogue Partner, Ridvan Kilic, Indonesia, Quad, strategic dialogue partner, non-alignment, ASEAN, ASEAN centrality, Jakarta, US-China hegemonic competition, US, China, Southeast Asia, North Natuna Sea, North Natuna Sea Exclusive Economic Zone, Exclusive Economic Zone, EEZ, sovereignty, strategic partnership, Quad countries, rules-based maritime order, Indo-Pacific, alignment, inaugural strategic dialogue partner, Joko Widodo, President Joko Widodo, Widodo, Jokowi, Global Maritime Fulcrum, GMF, economic cooperation, trade partners, Beijing, Belt and Road Initiative, BRI, infrastructure development, regional maritime power, Indonesian navy, maritime security, nine-dash line, South China Sea, SCS, non-claimant state, gas field, oil and gas drilling, Garuda Shield exercise, Indonesian National Armed Forces, Nusantara, Natuna archipelago, Makassar Strait, air force, navy capabilities, regional military capabilities, Washington, advanced fighter jets, Chinese assertiveness, Batam, Anthony Blinken, Retno Marsudi, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, freedom of navigation, japan, Natuna Islands, growing military build-up, military equipment and technology, bilateral relationship, india, Shared Vision of Maritime Cooperation, Andaman Sea, Sabang Deep Seaport, Aceh, Australia, Canberra, comprehensive strategic partnership, 2021 Australia-Indonesia security deal, Albanese Labor Government, Australia-Indonesia strategic partnership, Bahasa, Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Penny Wong, Anthony Albanese, military training, joint exercises, military hardware, Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Indo-Pacific Partnership Maritime Domain Awareness, IPMDA

In Dialogue: India's presence in the Indo-Pacific

Written by Sankaran Krishna and Aditi Malhotra

If the other members of the Quad harden their stance against the Chinese, India will find it increasingly difficult to continue its balancing act of being part of a group hostile to the very country on which its own economic survival depends.

Australia comes out of China’s ‘deep freeze’

Written by Melissa Conley Tyler

Australia’s export industries will hope to see progress in the coming months. Because the trade restrictions were not formalised, they are easy and quick to reverse — if there is the political will to do so.

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The fate of the Indo-Pacific: Lessons from Ukraine and US diplomacy towards Taiwan

Written by Reuben Steff and Martin Jirušek

Should war or a system of neo-Cold War style blocs emerge, it will be US allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific that form the new frontlines and that have the most to lose.

Pacific9DLNovember 23, 20229DashLine, Reuben Steff, The fate of the Indo-Pacific: Lessons from Ukraine and US diplomacy towards Taiwan, Martin Jirušek, Taiwan, US National Security Strategy, geopolitics, Europe, Indo-Pacific, super-order, security order, rules-based institutionalism, Moscow, China, USA, diplomacy, military, rebalancing, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s rise, Cold War, ‘hub-and-spoke’ system, alliance, Washington, networked’ security architecture, minilateral, multilateral, defence, allies, National Defense Strategy, Beijing, zero-sum, tit-for-tat, AUKUS trilateral security pact, Indo-Pacific Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD), Australia, UK, United Kingdom, Japan, India, containment, trade war, microchips, blocs, Southeast Asia, South Pacific, Middle East, shatterbelts, nuclear proliferation, southeast asia, confidence building, Kyiv, Emmanuel Macron, peace, France, Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Taipei, Pentagon, White House, de-escalation, Joe Biden, President Biden, ‘One China’ policy, NATO, Admiral Philip Davidson, US Congress, Admiral Mike Gilday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, invasion, Michael Beckley and, Hal Brands, peaking power trap, UN

What is Australia’s Indo-Pacific Endeavour about?

Written by Bec Strating

The IPE constitutes a form of ‘normative seapower’ through efforts to exert influence and shape perceptions within the crowded maritime marketplace of norms, ideas, and narratives.

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Why India won’t break from Russia.. yet

Written by Ian Hall

New Delhi clearly believes — rightly — that India’s relationship with the United States, underpinned by a shared interest in better managing China’s assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific, is sufficiently robust to weather disagreement over this war.

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Russia’s self-inflicted annus horribilis

Written by Joe Varner

The strategic importance of the Russian Pacific Fleet has never been greater to Moscow than it is now as the key means to engage and support Chinese foreign policy objectives in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

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More of the same is not the answer to building influence in the Pacific

Written by Meg Taylor DBE and Soli Middleby

While all nations share an interest in promoting a peaceful, safe, and prosperous region, the independent Pacific states do not necessarily share the same geostrategic perspectives as the large powerful economies of the industrialised West.

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Western Indian Ocean: The missing piece in the US Indo-Pacific Strategy

Written by Rushali Saha

The Biden administration’s expansion of the geographic definition of the Indo-Pacific to include the entire Indian Ocean, while a positive first step, is merely a symbolic move unless complemented with concrete policy action.

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Navigating Australia’s defence challenges

Written by Melissa Conley Tyler and Tom Barber

With a potential submarine capability gap, troubled procurement projects, and overall, a limited funding envelope in a deteriorating strategic environment, few would envy the Defence Minister’s job.

US interest in the Pacific Islands tested at Pacific Islands Conference of Leaders

Written by Henrietta McNeill and Joanne Wallis

This week’s meeting, and President Biden’s meeting with Pacific leaders, will both be key signals for how Pacific states are responding to the US’ sudden renewed interest in the region.

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