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View on Asia / Pacific

View on Asia/View on the Pacific briefing series examine key security and human rights challenges for the Asia Pacific and pose questions for Australia in its relations with the region.

Report card on Australia’s relations with the region 2007

This paper reports on a survey of Asia Pacific non-governmental organisations (NGOs) conducted over a period of two months from 8 June 2006 by Uniya Jesuit Social Justice Centre in partnership with Griffith Asia Institute. The study seeks to understand how this population perceives Australia, the source of information on Australia, whether these perceptions are changing, and whether these organisations share Australia’s concerns on a number of foreign policy issues. Some questions were based on previous surveys in Australia to ensure comparability.
Author: Minh Nguyen (Uniya), Alison Jaworski and Nicola Gabay. Date: February 2007

Mutual trust: an alternative to mutual obligation in overseas aid

Australia's current review of its aid program and the government's announcement to double its development assistance level are both potentially positive steps toward a fairer arrangement for developing countries. However, as the government considers the review in light of its new commitment, it should resist the temptation to import 'mutual obligation' to its development assistance program.
Date: March 2006. Author: Minh Nguyen
Part of a joint research project with JSS: the mutual obligation franchise

View on Malaysia

View on Malaysia by Victoria Mence examines several key factors that have shaped the direction of Malaysia's political and economic development since independence and Australia's complex relationship with this important regional neighbour.
Report date: July/August 2005. Author: Victoria Mence

Between a mined-out rock and a hard place: View on Nauru

This paper reminds Australia of its unique responsibilities as a former colonial administrator of Nauru and also as the large and influential neighbour of a small island state. It is launched at a time Australia and Nauru prepare to sign a further agreement to extend the present "Pacific Solution" aid arrangement which has kept essential services running on the near bankrupt island state.
Report date: July 2005. Authors: Helen Fraser & Minh Nguyen

The question of 'failed states'
Abridged text version: JRS Occassional Paper, no.8, 2005

This paper attempts to explain the origins of the concept of failing or failed states and to assess the popular claim that these states pose a security threat for Australia and Western interests.
Report date: April 2005. Author: Minh Nguyen

View on Vietnam
PDF format

Australia has the capacity to develop a stronger and more mature relationship with Vietnam, not just as means of pursuing positive trade outcomes but also of promoting political and civil rights practices in Vietnam. This, however, requires that Australia's own human rights record is blameless.
Report date: November 2004. Author: Lyndall J. Stoyles

View on The Solomon Islands
PDF format

The Regional Assistance Mission in the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) is now in its second year of operation. This report, authored by a Jesuit trauma counsellor who spent 3 weeks on the Solomon Islands helping the locals deal with the crisis, offers valuable background to the conflict and Australia's subsequent intervention.
Report date: September 2004. Author: Peter Hosking SJ

View on Myanmar/Burma
PDF format

This report argues that the debate on whether to sanction or engage Myanmar/Burma over its human rights abuses has become a distraction. What is more important for Australia is to pursue a strategy that is consistent and coordinated within a multilateral framework.
Report date: September 2004. Author: Minh Nguyen

View on Indonesia: The Political and Human Rights Situation
PDF format

This initial report comes at a time when Indonesia's first popular election raises many questions about the future direction of Australia's largest regional neighbour.
Report date: July 2004. Author: Minh Nguyen

Read media release, 13 July 2004

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