Today Trends

Author: Darren J Lim, ANU The study of hedging emerged because the traditional security concepts of balancing and bandwagoning are insufficient for understanding how smaller states are responding to US–China rivalry. While there is no scholarly consensus on a definition, hedging offers an alternative approach to categorising the foreign and security policy choices exhibited by Southeast Asian countries. In this context, hedging means sending signals that generate ambiguity over the extent of a state’s shared security interests with rival major powers, representing its interest in maintaining positive relations with both. While security interests are normally reflected in policy choices like purchasing weapons, joint training exercises and security treaties, Washington and Beijing increasingly see economic policies as signals of friendship or animosity. Australia learnt this lesson in 2018 when it excluded Chinese company Huawei from its 5G network. Canberra claimed that this deci

Author: Troy Han, RSIS In India, data is being treated as a strategic resource that needs to be safeguarded from external exploitation and made available for domestic requirements. Prime Minister Narendra Modi even went so far as to say that ‘ data is the new gold ’. Data is a new currency that flows across borders, enabling information exchange and facilitating transactions at record speeds. While its role in nation-building is unequivocal, its attendant risks to privacy and security have also amplified calls for states to protect the constitutional rights and welfare of its citizens. The Indian government has enacted data localisation measures — such as enforcing a data replica to be retained locally or restricting cross-border data flows — in various jurisdictions to hold big tech companies accountable for misappropriating sensitive data. Chairman of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani, has argued that ‘ Indian data should be owned by Indians’, while India

Author: Michael Keating, ANU The starting point for any review of Australia’s international strategy must be an assessment of the future US–China relationship, focussing on possible threats and opportunities. A good start was made in a speech by Australian Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, in April 2023. While Wong thinks that the United States will remain ‘indispensable’, she understands that it will no longer be the dominant power in Asia. Instead, Wong said that Australia’s national interest is to bring about a region where all countries benefit from a strategic equilibrium where no country dominates and no country is dominated. The Chinese economy overtook the US economy in 2016 based on purchasing power parity and has continued to grow much faster since. The idea that the United States can continue to dominate is not a sound basis for Australia’s international strategy. Yet the United States does not seem to recognise the change in its position in Asia. The United States, with

Author: Thorn Pitidol, Thammasat University Thailand is going through one of the most significant moments in its recent history. After nine years under military rule, the coalition of political parties opposing the military-backed government achieved a substantial victory in the national election, winning 313 out of 500 seats . The election result signifies an overwhelming rejection of military influence and the general-turned-prime minister Prayuth Chan-ocha. It remains to be seen whether the election result will turn into a change in government, as that still requires permission from military-appointed senators . But one thing is certain. Through the election result, the Thai people have demonstrated a clear shift in their political sentiment — voicing their frustrations over how the country has been run and demanding change. The desire for change shown by the Thai public is closely connected to the country’s inequality. Though official statistics show a recent decline in inco

Author: Jong Eun Lee, American University On 10 May 2022, Yoon Suk-yeol was inaugurated as South Korea’s president. Yoon promised a presidency characterised by ‘ freedom’ , ‘ fairness and common sense’, and a ‘value-based alliance’ with the United States. But one year later, Yoon’s government faces a politically divided South Korea. Yoon’s approval rating has declined from the low 50s since his inauguration and has fluctuated between the high 20s and low 40s . While Yoon’s domestic approval improved after diplomatic visits to the United States and the G7 Summit in Japan, it has not returned to pre-inaugural levels. Yoon has contentious relations with the opposition Democratic Party, which controls South Korea’s National Assembly. The partisan conflict has reached new heights under Yoon. For the past year, the government and the opposition party’s leadership have not held a formal meeting. The Democratic Party has condemned Yoon’s government for approving investigations into

Author: Editorial Board, ANU Asia has been sweltering through one of its most intense heat waves in memory. In April, Vietnam and Laos saw their hottest temperatures on record, and in India hundreds have died in extreme heat conditions. Elsewhere, there are ominous signs. The North Sea is five degrees hotter than normal and the Baltic Sea eight degrees hotter. A heat dome over Texas and Mexico has baked the region for weeks. Climate change, in other words, is most definitely here. The need for urgent action worldwide has never been more obvious. And yet even as the atmosphere races ahead of the climate models, and the need for urgent action intensifies, ambition and implementation lag behind. The United Nations Environment Programme’s 2022 climate report was ominously titled ‘The closing window’. It argued forcefully that the world is letting the chance to meet the Paris Agreement goal of only 1.5 degrees of warming slip through its hand. The science is unequivocal: action must be

Authors: M Chatib Basri, University of Indonesia and Adam Triggs, Mandala Here are three inconvenient truths. First, the world cannot fight climate change without developing countries. Second, developing countries will need massive amounts of investment for climate financing — and much of these required savings will need to be imported. Third, the governments of developing countries won’t allow the import of foreign savings if they worry that a backlash from international financial markets might cause financial instability. The combination of these three truths has produced a predicament that the world has not yet grappled with — that action on climate change is inextricably linked to the financial stability of developing countries, both perceived and actual. This is a big problem. Estimates of how much investment will be required by developing countries to fight climate change over the coming decades are in the tens of trillions of dollars. But developing countries, particularly

Author: Richard Katz, Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs Japanese automakers are risking a repeat of the decline of Detroit’s big three automakers — Chrysler, Ford and General Motors — because of their resistance to electric vehicles (EVs). Nearly 40 per cent of Americans who bought Teslas had switched from Japanese brands , primarily from Toyota and Honda. At a time when 25 per cent of new car sales in China are EVs or plug-in hybrids, a lack of EVs is costing Japanese brands sizeable sales. In a market weakened by COVID-19 , Japanese brands tumbled the most — by a third from the year before — compared to just 9 per cent for US and European brands. After surpassing Germany to become the world’s second-largest auto exporter in 2022, China is on track to surpass Japan relatively soon. Given the long-term decline in car sales within Japan — with 2022 sales 26 per cent below that of 1996 — a loss of market share in exports is a serious hit. The export problem is

Authors: Haiqing Yu, RMIT University and Wanning Sun, UTS There is a common misperception that WeChat is a trap for the Chinese diaspora. Yet, this is a simplistic view. While WeChat is essential to political communication and opinion curation among Chinese diasporic communities, the dynamics of opinion curation and user agency both on and off the platform are much more complex. First-generation migrants from China can access Chinese media produced in China, Chinese-language media produced in Australia as well as English-language media. While this rich media environment is a blessing, it is also potentially confusing, as people are exposed to different — and even conflicting — interpretations and analyses of events. The role of opinion leaders and opinion brokers is crucial. Most users of WeChat and its Chinese version Weixin in Australia are people with ties to mainland China or those associated with them, holding either international WeChat accounts or Chinese Weixin accounts