Risks are growing that China-centric maritime incidents could lead to war in Asia. Authors Rory Medcalf and Raoul Heinrichs, with maritime adviser Justin Jones, examine the drivers of Asia’s growing maritime ‘crisis of confidence’, including clashes of sovereignty, national pride and military strategy. They examine the prospects for confidence-building measures to reduce those dangers, and...

Interest in answers to questions on who receives Australian aid and why are timely given the announcement by the government of its intentions to double the total Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget by 2015‐16. The Australian government has announced its intention to allocate 0.5 percent of gross national income (GNI) by 2015‐16 to ODA (AusAID...

This report argues Australia should develop a comprehensive approach to replace the Pacific Patrol Boat Program. Australia has supplied twenty-two boats to twelve island countries for maritime security. The vessels will start reaching the end of their service lives from 2018. But Australia’s future plans for Pacific maritime aid remain opaque.

It’s time for international leadership in better coordination of programs and efforts and increased capacity building in the Pacific Island nations, writes Lesley Russell.

This paper examines current definitions of child trafficking, the forms that it is known to take in Asia and the Pacific, the factors which increase vulnerability to trafficking and the mechanisms for the protection of children from this crime. Children are vulnerable to many forms of abuse and exploitation and have long been victims of...