Philip Crump: America's Rare Earth Renaissance

Six months into Trump's second term, rare earth minerals are at the centre of his Administration's approach to foreign policy.

As President Trump reshapes global alliances, rare earth minerals are at the centre of his Administration’s approach to foreign policy, challenging China’s stranglehold on the resources that power modern technology.

Geoffrey Miller: Jacinda Ardern’s Asia trip rekindles New Zealand’s independent foreign policy

New Zealand’s independent foreign policy is back.

That’s a key underlying message from Jacinda Ardern’s trip this week to Southeast Asia.

The New Zealand Prime Minister attended the East Asia Summit in Cambodia over the weekend. She will head to Thailand for the APEC leaders’ meeting later in the week.

In between, Ardern is also making a surprise four-day bilateral visit to Vietnam.

Benjamin Herscovitch: An insider's view of Australia's Asian embrace

Sam Roggeveen, editor of the Lowy Institute’s blog The Interpreter, recently suggested that coming to grips with the Asian Century may represent a ‘great national project’ for Australia. Embracing Asia ‘goes to the core of our national identity’ and cannot be done without political leadership, he added.

The Asian Century is not a pithy turn of phrase. It points to one of the most important geo-strategic shifts in world history. After approximately 500 years of European and American pre-eminence, power is rapidly moving back to Asian capitals and centres of commerce. As profound as the changes heralded by the dawn of the Asian Century might be, it does not require a great nation-building response from Australia. We are already deep in an Asian embrace.