A bit late in sharing this, but was recently honoured to join the "Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific?" Podcast for a yarn. Why Should We Care if South Korea Finally Has a New President? | with Go... youtu.be/FP4e-YTZzcE?...

Very insigthful article by former KIEP President Dr. Kim Heungchong outlining the solid present and essential future of Australia-Korea Cooperation. [여의도포럼] 한국과 호주, 새로운 발전 모색할 때 www.kmib.co.kr/article/view...

What have Australia and India achieved since concluding the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership deal in 2020? Lisa Singh and I take a look... www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpre...

Asia a clear focus of Trump’s tariffs—for many they’re swingeing, for some they’re brutal, eg Vietnam 46%. Difficult to think of a policy that wld have been better calibrated to drive swathes of the region closer into China’s orbit. US strategic position in Asia is now significantly weaker. FT chart

It was an honour to meet the Republic of Korea's Ambassador to Australia, His Excellency Admiral (Retd) Seungseob Sim, who generously hosted the Australia-Korea Foundation Board at his Residence in Canberra last week.

@japarker29.bsky.social Rockstar!

'Chinese President Xi Jinping’s approach is clear: he’d rather pressure Taiwan into submission over time than launch an all-out invasion,' writes @nathanattrill.bsky.social.

Honoured to be appointed to serve on the Australia-Korea Foundation Board and look forward to working toward an even stronger Australia-Korea relationship. www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/pen...

We are delighted to announce that CEO Professor @lgflake.bsky.social has been appointed as a new Board Member of the Australia-Korea Foundation (AKF). 🇦🇺🇰🇷 📄 Media release from Senator the Hon Penny Wong here: www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/pen...

The world may be on fire, but mangoes still ripen in thier own time. Today was the day for these three from a tree my dear wife grew from seed.

It has been just over a week since I was honoured to speak at the Munich Security Conference on a APRI Armenia-ORF organized panel on "Minilateralism and Multilateralism: the Shift from Global Alliances to Targeted Partnerships." It is hard to overstate how much has changed in that week. #MSC2025

What was that JD Vance speech at Munich all about? Chinese-style Wolf Warrior Diplomacy, says Prof. Gordon Flake, designed to please the MAGA base by insulting allies overseas. My latest yarn for The Nightly: https://latika.me/JDWolfWarrior

Excellent panel at #MSC2025. No one better than @PerthUSAsia Board Member Dr. Lynn Kuok to moderate a discussion with Korean and Japanese Foreign Ministers, New Zealand Defence Minister & Deputy SecGen of NATO. The Indo-Pacific has interest in the Euro-Atlantic and vice versa

📝 This piece dives into China’s growing presence in the furthest reaches of the Indian Ocean, and identifies practical ways Australia and India can work together. 🔗 Published in a compendium of works by Australia India Institute, you can now read here >> perthusasia.edu.au/research-ins...

I visited the Nuremberg Courthouse today where the Trial of Nazi leaders marked the birth of international criminal law. Stark contrast to ICC President Tomoko Akane from Japan today condemning Trump's executive order authorizing sanctions on ICC staff. www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/02...

Clarion call from Kim Beazley on Australia's role in rare earth supply chains www.aspistrategist.org.au/the-winners-...

If the next US government normalises the idea of absorbing territory by force - even if this is justified as some sort of lunatic diplomatic gambit - it makes it more likely that China will believe that the US will ultimately stand aside during an invasion of Taiwan.

This from the @washingtonpost.com on how the Biden administration reached its decision on Nippon Steel-US Steel is so dismaying if not surprising. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

the Asahi New Year look at our disturbed world: "The United States today is no longer able to single-handedly protect the global order, and gone now is the American middle class that supported the nation’s prosperity back then." www.asahi.com/ajw/articles...

The very first thing Biden should have done was abolish all the bad Trump tariffs on our allies (& re-entered TPP) The (almost) very last thing he should have done is not do this very dumb CFIUS thing He got awful economic & geopolitical advice. I’ll never understand it. bsky.app/profile/mcop...

My thoughts on Joe Biden and his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad U.S. Steel decision… www.aei.org/foreign-and-...

Something something friend-shoring

Leo Lewis really captures what the US Steel affair has meant for Japan as far as coming to terms with the reality of US protectionism. on.ft.com/40k2bnB

🇬🇧 🇦🇺 #AUKMIN Foreign Secretary David Lammy says the Labour government doesn't use the language of an Indo-Pacific tilt but a 'systemic must.'

Arrived in Gwangju early this morning. Not surprising, but the Gwangju Daily News and the citizens of South Cholla Province have little ambiguity about yesterday's impeachment of President Yoon yesterday.

Gallup Korea's new numbers are out, just 24 hours ahead of the 2nd impeachment vote. Thread incoming.

Glad to see one of the best in the business @myhlee.bsky.social stand-up for journalistic standards, which are now more needed than ever.

1. This is a bad-faith attack on my coverage, and I think you know it @timshorrock.bsky.social. The story quotes SIX experts from all perspectives - including even from Moon’s govt, a former career FSO who served under Trump and Biden, plus academics. There’s nothing wrong with including…

"The content of the message doesn’t matter if voters never hear it." A real challenge for democracies globally in an information environment where trusted sources are degraded, social media distorts, and there is real mis/disinformation both foreign and domestic.

Insightful analysis by @benjaminaengel.bsky.social My only quibble would be to note that hostility to the trilateral Korea-Japan-U.S. relationship will impact the bilateral U.S.-Korea relationship as well as Korea's broader international standing.

I normally read @ajmount.bsky.social's posts anyway, but this time was genuinely curious as to why AI/ai thought ASD NCB was a bad idea. Turns out it was Al/al and more persuasive still. #fontperil #youcancallmeal

Just heard of the passing of the incomparable David Steinberg. He was a friend and a mentor and helped me get my start in DC nearly 35 years ago. I learned the word "peripatetic" from his voice mail, and he lived it till the end! Vale! asiafoundation.org/remembering-...

#TheGoldenRoad rave reviewed in The Hindustan Times "Modern India has not told her ancient tale well either to herself or the world, a task newly accomplished by William Dalrymple’s book, The Golden Road – How Ancient India Transformed the World. www.hindustantimes.com/books/review...

Late to read this challenging yet constructive edited volume from @carnegieendow.bsky.social Evan Feigenbaum. carnegieendowment.org/research/202...

India will provide a $400 million currency swap to help Maldives’ struggling economy. OUR TAKE: India & China are vying for influence in the Indian Ocean island nation. Muizzu was elected on an ‘India-out’, pro-China campaign, but the deal shows he's pragmatic.

An engaging afternoon at our last event for 2024: Energy Security and the decarbonisation imperative for Japan and Australia. 🇯🇵🇦🇺 We were honoured to host Mr Takayuki Ueda, Global CEO of INPEX Australia, for a Keynote address and panel discussion, facilitated by our CEO @lgflake.bsky.social 🗣️

China/Japan crossover moment as China’s benchmark 10-year bond yield slips below 2%, a 22-year low. Para from FT.

Sad to note the passing of Ambassador Mort Abramowitz, a friend and a mentor during my decades in D.C. It was a particular honour to serve with him on the Board of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea. His wisdom and experience will be missed www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2...

First opportunity to hear from H.E. Sugiono, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia. Speaking at #CIFP2024 www.cifp2024.com says in two months in the job he has felt young compared to his peers, but not so in from of nearly 10k university students convened by Dr. Dino Patti Djalal and FPCI!

1/7 According to the FT, "China’s long-term bond yields have fallen below Japan’s for the first time, as investors bet that the world’s second-biggest economy will become bogged down by the deflation that has long afflicted its neighbour." www.ft.com/content/d299...

With the ruling coalition losing its majority, the government in Japan has been further weakened. The Ishiba administration is now likely to be short-lived, writes @kazutosuzuki.bsky.social.

#Trump has also made very clear from long before he entered national politics that he strongly opposes the stationing of U.S. forces abroad in affluent allied countries like South Korea and Germany. Our @csis.org dataset documented 1️⃣2️⃣2️⃣ public comments. beyondparallel.csis.org/database-don... 📌

Investigators suspect a Chinese bulk carrier deliberately severed two critical data cables last week as its anchor was dragged along the Baltic seabed for over 100 miles. Their probe now centers on whether the captain of the ship was induced by Russian intelligence. www.wsj.com/world/europe...

A video recording of our recent event on Japan-South Korea relations is now available. Featuring Jennifer Lind (@proflind.bsky.social) and Andrew Yeo. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCIa...

How are North Korean troops getting to Russia? What we know so far based on South Korea's National Intelligence Service and White House information⬇️ Read the full @csis.org analysis https://buff.ly/3Uqurl2

We should add to this that the DPRK certainly will learn useful lessons.

Ukraine gives more details of the foreign components in North Korean ballistic missiles. The KN-23/KN-24 is said to contain components from 8 countries, incl. Japan. Toshiba specifically named. The site has a database detailing each component by country of origin. war-sanctions.gur.gov.ua/en/news

After a relatively stable November, Mainichi's new poll pushes the Ishiba government's net approval back into negative territory.