Examines the role of the US Congress in policy toward the Asia-Pacific region. Key findings While partisan gridlock in Congress has hindered the execution of US foreign policy overall, it has disproportionately affected US policy towards the Asia Pacific because the region has had few champions in either house in recent years. To the extent...

This article summarises a symposium held at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra in late August 2015. The Forums part in Australian Diplomacy examined the UN Security Council and how Australia can add more value to world peace and security The Tools component in Australian Diplomacy focused on Aid, Humanitarian, Consular and...

This paper addresses the question of whether the US rebalance to the Indo-Pacific is good for Australia. It overviews the considerations that drove the policy and identifies the broad strategies being pursued by the US. The paper details the steps being taken to realise the policy and then considers the opportunities and issues for Australia...

Abstract This paper examines Australia’s national security interests in the South China Sea. It notes that a number of states lay claim to various islands in the region, and that territorial disputes over those claims have occasionally erupted into armed conflict in the past. The paper contends that China’s more recent behaviour in asserting its...

This paper outlines the dilemmas faced by Asian countries caught in strategic competition between great powers. Abstract This paper by Singapore’s Ambassador-at-large Bilahari Kausikan was the inaugural Shedden Lecture in Strategy and Defence. It artfully describes the tension regional countries face and advocates a posture of flexibility and independence. It argues we should not try...