Australia’s efforts at developing a positive relationship with the Pacific Islands appear to be shadowed by Australia’s continued reliance on coal, which has greatly angered Pacific leaders. 

As Westminster grapples with the prospect of a no-deal Brexit, it further harms its relations with Scotland. 

Under President Trump the US has declared war on the international trading system. While the US-China trade war commands most attention, punitive tariffs have been applied unilaterally by the US to exports from Japan, South Korea, Germany, Canada and Mexico, among others.

A cyber espionage group employed by the Chinese Government is moonlighting for some extra cash as cyber criminals. This has broad ethical and policy implications not just for China but for all nations who operate offensive cyber operations, including Australia.

The current negotiation efforts by the US in Afghanistan has not abided basic negotiation tactics, which has prolonged the atrocities and appears to inch further away from a peace process in Afghanistan. 

Allan and Darren return to the perennial topics of Australian foreign policy—our relationships with the United States and China, with events of recent weeks offering yet another illustration of how complex and challenging these relations are.

The recent shooting in El Paso, Texas can be ideologically linked to other incidents, specifically the Christchurch, New Zealand attacks.

Trump and Erdogan have found it convenient to collaborate on Syria for the moment. But the announcement of US-Turkish cooperation to establish “safe zones” in north-eastern Syria does not herald a thaw in relations between the two NATO allies, and may endanger the democracy at work in the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria. 

To inch towards the total denuclearisation of North Korea, we should perhaps frame the North's nuclear threat as a threat against human rights. 

The Philippines and Australia are both equally vulnerable to cyberattacks and could benefit in engaging in a strategic partnership to solidify their respective national cyber security.