This week in Australian foreign affairs: Payne attending ASEAN meetings, investing $180 million in the Global Partnership for Education, new diplomatic postings, and more.

Australia’s international environment has become more demanding. The operation of the Work Health and Safety Act may raise the bar for the use of diplomats and development staff in some contingencies.

Thailand’s initial response to COVID-19 was applauded internationally, but cracks have begun to appear in vaccine rollouts and new COVID-19 clusters. Throughout it all, the West has supported its ally and is engaging in vaccine diplomacy in the region.

On 4 August 2020 at 18:00, Beirut experienced two explosions emanating from its port in short succession. The second took the lives of over 200 people, injured over 6000 people, and took out infrastructure across the densely populated areas of Gemmayze and Mar Mikhael.

Ireland’s recently won its bid for a temporary seat on the UN Security Council. This success offers insights into how the bitter experiences of colonialism can be recast to build global influence. 

On 18 July 2021, Mandela Day in honour of the leader’s birthday, people in Durban and Johannesburg cleaned up 200 looted shopping malls. The “deferred dream” had gone up in flames.

Many have been preoccupied with the geopolitical tensions exposed by the Coral Sea Cable. This continues a longstanding – and problematic – tradition of treating the islands of the South Pacific as an empty stage on which to play out Great Power conflict.

The Australian government has vowed to "step-up" its engagement with its "Pacific family," emphasising that its relationships with Pacific states will be characterised by respect for, and listening to them, as equals. While this advances the government's strategic interests, puzzlingly, leaders and officials continue exhibit beliefs and behaviour that undermine this goal.

Greg Dodds’ alternative account of the Vietnam War is a captivating memoire. It is detailed, personal, and provides on-the-ground context to key moments in Vietnam.

Helen Clark, former prime minister of New Zealand and the co-chair of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response reflects on the findings of the panel's report and discusses with the AIIA National President the lessons the world could learn from the pandemic.