This week in Australian foreign affairs: temporary closure of the Australian Embassy in Afghanistan, DFAT’s new Indigenous Diplomacy Agenda, Dr Yang Hengjun to face trial in China, and more.

Postures have been turning internationally on arms sales to states involved in Yemen’s conflict. One must question the role and effect of Australia’s defence exports on the crisis.

Samoa has elected its first woman prime minister. Now an ongoing constitutional crisis, ironically centred around competing interpretations of Samoa’s parliamentary gender quota provisions, is preventing her from taking power.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s announcement on 15 April that the Australian Defence Force (ADF) would withdraw from Afghanistan by September brings closure to Australia’s longest, operational military deployment. With ongoing uncertainties about Afghanistan’s future, was that deployment worth it?

Allan and Darren welcome Linda Jakobson to the podcast. Linda is a leading China expert, and a vital voice in Australia’s own China debate.

The cannons have gone silent, and the fireworks display over Gaza’s sky has gone dark. Paradoxically, as long as the ceasefire holds, the withdrawal of direly needed global attention from the region will continue, like oftentimes before – and onwards to the next crisis.

In an industry where international cooperation and capacity building is critical, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and its kindred Australian organisations play a key role in supporting capacity building in the Asia-Pacific region.

Pondering DFAT’s competence and relevance is not a new Canberra phenomenon. It’s the friends and foes and political masters in Canberra that truly control how great it can be.

Australia’s  neighbours are struggling with serious COVID-19 outbreaks. Australia needs to take seriously its obligations as a good neighbour in helping to secure COVID-19 vaccines for the region.

The Indian diaspora is the fastest-growing in Australia.  The Australian government's recent discriminatory response to towards citizens attempting to return to Australia has presented challenges to Australia-India relations.