Australia-Indonesia Regional Tensions. We seem to be moving to a new bi-polarity and that is serious.

America has gradually withdrawn from involvement in our region. President Trump’s stance in which foreign policy appears to be slave to domestic politics has made things even more complicated. Are we headed for a new dangerous bi-polarity?

Prime Minister Scott Morrison at the inauguration of President Widodo. What does a shift to a growing bi-polarity mean for both countries? Source: Photo by Australian Embassy Jakarta, licensed under CREATIVE COMMONS 20 Oct 2019.

Dr Evan Laksmana, senior researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta explains why the tension between the USA and China is increasingly serious and what avenues are open to Indonesia, ASEAN and Australia to deal with it.

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