Asia Pacific

The events of the last twelve months in Papua New Guinea have been extraordinary and unexpected – even by the standards of the ‘Land of the Unexpected’.

The Prime Ministership has been declared vacant. The Governor-General has been suspended. The Chief Justice has been arrested. Governments have been declared invalid. The judiciary and the legislature have been in dispute.

As startling as these events may be, in the midst of this turmoil, in many ways, PNG deserves considerable credit.

Continue reading "Fresh elections could pave a pathway to PNG prosperity" »

A year ago Barack Obama declared himself the first ‘Pacific President’ but so far his engagement with the region leaves a lot to be desired.

President Obama hosted the second US-ASEAN Summit in New York on Friday. Many are hopeful the insubstantial two-hour lunch meeting on the sidelines of the UN will signal a turning point in the Obama Administration’s approach to Asia.

So far the President has visited Europe six times and Asia only once. His European adventures have included spruiking a hometown Olympic bid and accepting the Nobel Peace Prize with one hand while saluting off more troops into harm’s way with the other. While some of his trips across the Atlantic have taken him to important gatherings of the G20 and NATO, declaring war on nuclear arms along the way, it is Asia – not Europe – that should be centre of the world’s attention right now.

Continue reading "Obama the Pacific President? Not so much" »