https://www.scmp.com/rss/510824/feed Chris Khatouki is an academic and research fellow at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com On March 28, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that Australia would head to the polls for a federal election in May. The long-awaited announcement set the stage for a closely contested race between his centre-left Labour Party and the conservative Liberal Party. But as the political battle lines were drawn, an unexpected development was unfolding offshore. A Chinese research vessel was spotted off the south coast of Australia. Strategic analysts raised alarm, while tabloid media stoked... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3306715/trumps-tariffs-sound-death-knell-us-australia-alliance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3306715/trumps-tariffs-sound-death-knell-us-australia-alliance?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Apr 2025 21:30:08 +0000 Every now and then, nations are presented with moments of exceptional importance, and the outcome of Australia’s federal election is certainly one. For almost a decade, Australia has been governed by the conservative Liberal-National Coalition, which undoubtedly led the nation through profound domestic and regional turbulence. Yet, rather than emerge with a renewed sense of ambition or self-assurance on the world stage, Australia’s foreign policy has consistently exhibited incoherence and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3178789/under-labor-leadership-australia-has-chance-end-its-foreign-policy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3178789/under-labor-leadership-australia-has-chance-end-its-foreign-policy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 May 2022 22:30:25 +0000 More than a month has now passed since Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the Aukus military pact. Questions about its strategic implications aside, the long-term significance of Aukus on Australia’s relations with the world will only be matched by what it has confirmed about its own body politic. After the announcement, Australia’s federal opposition was left scrambling to compose a careful response to an agreement which fundamentally reshapes the nation’s strategic future –... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3153017/what-aukus-alliance-says-about-australian-democracy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3153017/what-aukus-alliance-says-about-australian-democracy?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Oct 2021 01:15:16 +0000 Tugged by the strings of traditional alliance on the one hand and the prospect of economic growth on the other, Australia found itself in the 21st century between the proverbial rock and hard place. Yet, rather than smashing into one side of the binary, Australia, until 2014, managed to maintain its alliance with the United States and build a productive relationship with its largest trading partner, China. Flash forward to last week’s announcement of the “Aukus” pact, and a multibillion-dollar... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/world/article/3149284/australias-war-posturing-against-china-out-tune-region-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/world/article/3149284/australias-war-posturing-against-china-out-tune-region-and?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Sep 2021 01:15:18 +0000