The Lowy Interpreter

Can Japan's Subsea Mineral Discovery be Mined?

By The Lowy Interpreter 2018-04-20 16:44:00

[By Frederick Kuo] Rare earth metals are critical to the production of a massive array of industrial goods, from smartphones to precision-guided missiles. This makes rare earth materials production and ownership a contentious issue in the tug of war between states. China’s production...

Borneo Oil Spill Hurts Indonesia's Poor

By The Lowy Interpreter 2018-04-09 21:25:00

[By Kate Walton] “We believe this is the worst oil spill to catch fire since the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster,” said Fathur Roziqin Fen, director for East Kalimantan for WALHI, Indonesia’s largest environmental organisation. He is closely monitoring the consequences of last...

Furor Over Fisheries Enforcement in Indonesia

By The Lowy Interpreter 2018-04-06 14:42:00

[By Aisyah Llewellyn] “Indonesia’s fishing industry was broken for many years,” says Amhar, who, like many Indonesians, goes by only one name. “Then Susi came along and she fought for us.” Amhar is a fisherman with a small boat he runs out of...

Chinese Carrier Poses No Threat for Taiwan

By The Lowy Interpreter 2018-03-23 13:52:00

[By Euan Graham] Measured in terms of Chinese rhetoric, the temperature of cross-strait relations has risen sharply this week. Addressing China’s National People’s Congress, President Xi Jinping warned Taiwan that it would be “punished by history” if it declares independence....

Joint Freedom of Navigation Patrols in the South China Sea

By The Lowy Interpreter 2018-02-21 17:02:00

[By Shashank Joshi and Euan Graham] During a trip to Australia this month, UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson announced that HMS Sutherland, a British frigate currently deployed to Australia and the Western Pacific, would return from its tour via the South China Sea,...

The Indian Ocean Base Race

By The Lowy Interpreter 2018-02-14 21:40:00

[By David Brewster] It seems that we are in the middle of a base race across the Indian Ocean. The latest move, reported on Tuesday, involves an agreement to give India access to naval facilities in Oman, close to the Strait of...

Sanctions Busting, North Korean-Style

By The Lowy Interpreter 2018-02-12 16:53:00

[By Justin Hastings] A recent report from the UN sanctions committee suggests that North Korea has been able to generate an estimated $200 million from illicit dealings in the past year. Coal is being exported to China, Malaysia, Russia, and Vietnam in violation...

Subsea Cables in a Thawing Arctic

By The Lowy Interpreter 2018-02-02 20:01:00

[By Elizabeth Buchanan] China has made a significant foray into the Arctic with the creation of a data “silk road." Preliminary planning of a Chinese and Finnish–led trans-Arctic cable along the Arctic’s Northeast Passage in partnership with Japan and Norway...

China's New Network of Indian Ocean Bases

By The Lowy Interpreter 2018-01-31 18:52:00

[By David Brewster] According to recent reports, China may be about to construct a naval and air base near Gwadar, in west Pakistan. This would be China’s second base in the Indian Ocean and indicates that it may be moving...

Conserving the Pacific's Fish Stocks

By The Lowy Interpreter 2017-12-08 20:20:43

[By Dr. Quentin Hanich] The western and central Pacific Ocean is home to the world’s most productive tuna fisheries, supplying global markets with canned tuna, sashimi and other tuna products. Industrial catches of skipjack, yellowfin, bigeye, and albacore are collectively...