Asian-Pacific region

The two-month sail of a fleet of six vessels belonging to the Australian Navy, which started on September 4 this year, became a very remarkable event in the geopolitical game in the South China Sea, in which all leading world powers are being gradually drawn.

Some people can never get enough of anything.

WWII memories are among the hardest for the Japanese public.
August 15 presents itself as a landmark date in the new history of the Asia-Pacific Region and, in particular, the North-East Asia Sub-Region. On this day in 1945, the then-Emperor of Japan, Hirohito, issued a historical statement in which he agreed to accept the terms of capitulation that the leaders of the United States, Great Britain and the Republic of China had formulated three weeks earlier in Potsdam.

At the very beginning of June Singapore hosted the annual Shangri-La Dialogue summit that proved to be one of the most notable international forums which discusses the issues of security in the Asian-Pacific Region (APR) in the broad sense of this term, which means that the Indian Ocean is also considered a part of it in this context.

“China”, Napoleon once remarked, “is like a sleeping lion. Let here sleep, for when she awakens she will shake the world.”
Introduction

“China”, Napoleon once remarked, “is like a sleeping lion.  Let here sleep, for when she awakens she will shake the world.”
Introduction

The recent visit to Australia by the US Vice-President Mike Pence and statements by both Prime Minister Turnbull and Opposition leader Shorten have highlighted yet again the singularly dangerous path that Australia is following in its defence and foreign policies.
A symptom of that danger was the statement by the North Korean leader Kim Yong-Un that Australia is now a nuclear target because of its close adherence to US foreign policy in respect of the current Korean tensions.

The five-day visit of Prime Minister Li Keqiang to Australia at the end of March is a good occasion to turn again to the topic of positioning this country in the complex game that is currently being played by the leading powers of the APR.

The Australian government’s selective view of history and capacity for self-delusion in its foreign policy was on full display when Foreign Minister Julie Bishop delivered the Fullerton Lecture to the International Institute of Strategic Studies in Singapore on Monday 13 March 2017.