“I make robots” said the sharply dressed young man.  We had arrived at the same time to an event celebrating forty years of China’s...

In the tiny Pacific island of Yap, when it was time for a girl to become a woman she would go to a special house in the forest for four...

I currently live between Beijing and Budapest, between two countries that are deeply misunderstood in the wider world.  Both have had...

The Cyprus problem, still unresolved a quarter of a century since I wrote this analysis of the UN peacekeeping force, originally...

It was the summer of 1990 and I was on my way to Budapest, to take up a position as a junior diplomat in the Australian Embassy.  The...

Look at any map of the world.  The Pacific Ocean is important.  It is not only because it covers about one third of the planet.  The...

That's quite an Opera House you have there, Astana. Not only an Opera House, but all kinds of grand buildings and monuments.  Is this a...

It’s a country many people haven’t heard much about, but it is hosting the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders in November,...

We are going to need to learn how to better work together.  We in the vast Pacific Ocean know this.  It is why our leaders created the...

At the United Nations Oceans Conference in New York on June 9, 2017, world leaders committed to conserve and sustainably use our oceans...

Pacific peoples are the custodians of the world’s largest, most peaceful and abundant ocean, its many islands and its rich diversity of...

Address to the UNESCAP High Level Dialogue on Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration for Enhancing Sustainable Development in Asia...

Being a nation without an independence day, Australia suffers a regular diet of self-reflection around this time every January.  On the...

Australia is the most economically integrated with China of all G20 economies.  Yet the relationship remains fragile and based on...

Welcome to our special guest from the Pacific, Mr Shiu Raj, Director of the Economic Governance Program of the Pacific Islands Forum; our...

Vice President Wei, Professor Yu, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Congratulations to Sun Yat Sen University for your...

The Silk Road conjures up images of camel trains transporting spices, precious jewels and artifacts along the ancient trade routes across...

For many people around the world the South Pacific represents paradise. Those of us who grew up in the South Pacific believe it is,...

Nowhere are the challenges, and perhaps also the opportunities of development, greater than Papua New Guinea.  One interesting...

It is an honour to be in the company of so many former heads of state and government and I thank the hosts for providing me with the...