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Daniel Flitton @danielflitton.bsky.social · 23d

Anthony Albanese gives his first UN speech on Friday week. Will he break from Australia's predictable diplomatic script?

My analysis of recent national statements suggests probably not.👉 www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpre...

A bingo card guide for Anthony Albanese’s speech to the United Nations

Australia’s recent national statements reveal the familiar script the PM will likely follow in his first address to the global body.

www.lowyinstitute.org

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Reposted by Daniel Flitton

Reuters @reuters.com · Sep 8

Indonesia removes finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, official says reut.rs/4phHfYQ

Indonesia removes finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, official says

The Indonesian government removed finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati in a cabinet reshuffle on Monday, state secretariat minister Prasetyo Hadi said.

reut.rs

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Daniel Flitton @danielflitton.bsky.social · Sep 4

We've given the Interpreter Weekly Email Digest a make-over, and it looks schmick. If you're not signed up, you should - 🔗https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter

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Daniel Flitton @danielflitton.bsky.social · Sep 3

Daniel Andrews shaking hands with Xi Jinping at China's military parade might be more about thumbing his nose at political enemies back home than grand strategy. My latest for @LowyInstitute on former politicians playing "private statesman". www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpre...

Daniel Andrews, private statesman, grubby diplomacy

A former state leader’s appearance at China’s military parade tells a story of Australia’s ongoing China dilemma.

www.lowyinstitute.org

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Daniel Flitton @danielflitton.bsky.social · Sep 2

"... can refine AUKUS and make it fit for today’s purpose." Refine, after only five years? Could be read as an admission the initial conception was hasty? Or maybe it's ever so, there is ambition then details follow?

Daniel Flitton @danielflitton.bsky.social · Sep 2

Also some notable language. "... can resoundingly deliver on the alliance’s potential." That A-word, given there has been a talking point that AUKUS is not technically an alliance.

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Daniel Flitton @danielflitton.bsky.social · Sep 2

A Minister of AUKUS? Or ambassador at least? Interesting debating point in this Marise Payne, Jim Mattis et al essay. First reaction is how would it resolve challenges in authority lines with rest of Defence - already complaints AUKUS is an extra service. www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

Don’t Abandon AUKUS

The case for recommitting to—and revitalizing—the alliance.

www.foreignaffairs.com

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Daniel Flitton @danielflitton.bsky.social · Sep 1

It’s not all about Trump and tariffs. India and China had taken steps toward rapprochement from at least October last year when Modi met Xi. And despite the evident fractures in US-India ties now, there is still cooperation.

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Reposted by Daniel Flitton

Stephen McDonell @stephenmcdonell.bsky.social · Aug 27

We were taken into the mountains of Shennongjia in central #China to meet the golden snubbed nosed monkeys which have - for the moment - been saved from extinction... CLICK ON LINK TOO SEE.

www.bbc.com/news/article...

The battle to Save China's snub nosed monkey

The BBC has been granted access to an area where scientists are battling to save the rare snub-nosed monkey.

www.bbc.com

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Daniel Flitton @danielflitton.bsky.social · Aug 25

As journalists, we love adjectives that grab attention. But do words like "strategic" and "vital" help or hinder understanding? I've had a look at how recent media language around the Quad can overstate what this forum has actually achieved. www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpre...

The gap between Quad rhetoric and reality

Flowery language from reporters masks a forum that struggles to deliver on grand promises about containing China.

www.lowyinstitute.org

Daniel Flitton @danielflitton.bsky.social · Aug 22

"As the diplomatic whirlwind dies down, the likelihood of a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy seems to be further diminishing." www.bbc.com/news/article...

If a Putin-Zelensky summit takes place, where could it be?

Geneva, Istanbul and Budapest have been put forward as potential locations - but bilateral talks still remain a long way off.

www.bbc.com

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Daniel Flitton @danielflitton.bsky.social · Aug 20

From "my friend Donald Trump" to questioning "the end of a beautiful friendship" – how did India-US relations deteriorate so dramatically in just 9 months? My latest tracks a month-by-month unravelling through the headlines that tell the story. www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpre...

How India-US relations unravelled: The Trump-Modi timeline

From bromance to breakdown.

www.lowyinstitute.org

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Reposted by Daniel Flitton

The Lowy Institute @lowyinstitute.bsky.social · Aug 20

“‘In Trump-Modi standoff, ‘egos’ and missteps fuel resentment’ – Washington Post,” writes Daniel Flitton in The Interpreter.
https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/how-india-us-relations-unravelled-trump-modi-timeline

How India-US relations unravelled: The Trump-Modi timeline

From bromance to breakdown.

www.lowyinstitute.org

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Daniel Flitton @danielflitton.bsky.social · Aug 18

Penny Wong appoints former Labor MP Michelle O’Byrne as Australia's Ambassador for Gender Equality - follows Stephen Jones to OECD in July, and Keith Pitt (Nationals) to Vatican as politicians-turned-diplomats this year. www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/pen...

www.foreignminister.gov.au

Daniel Flitton @danielflitton.bsky.social · Aug 14

Latest tension in South China sea, with US warships now in the area, and a sharp analysis from @richheydarian.bsky.social www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpre...

A South China Sea collision brings US-Philippines alliance to the fore

Beijing again turns aggressive in contested waters but in doing so betrays feeling spooked.

www.lowyinstitute.org

Daniel Flitton @danielflitton.bsky.social · Aug 5

Good look at what is often a vexed debate about this industry. www.reuters.com/business/env...

Old trees and ageing farmers worsen outlook for top palm oil exporters

Malaysian farmer Suratmen Mosman faces a dilemma that threatens to sap supply from the world's top palm oil exporters and drive up prices of the vegetable oil essential to billions of consumers worldwide in the next five years.

www.reuters.com

Reposted by Daniel Flitton

The Lowy Institute @lowyinstitute.bsky.social · Jul 24

“The regional game is subtle and layered. Timor-Leste will continue to deal with Myanmar, even more intensively and extensively, especially when it acquires full membership,” writes Flávio Simões in The Interpreter.
https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/timor-leste-navigating-asean-way

Timor-Leste and navigating the ASEAN Way

Upset from the generals in Naypyidaw is a further test of Dili’s mastery of regional diplomatic choreography.

www.lowyinstitute.org

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Reposted by Daniel Flitton

Ian Hall @drianhall.bsky.social · Jul 23

This won’t go down well in Delhi. There is meant to be a Quad summit soon…

Tobias Harris @tobiasharris.bsky.social · Jul 23

News broke a short time ago that Prime Minister Ishiba will likely be leaving the premiership in August. Here, I explain why he has little choice but to go, how the US-Japan trade deal contributed to his decision, and offered some initial thoughts on his tenure.

open.substack.com/pub/observin...

Tragic to the last

Ishiba moves towards the exit

open.substack.com

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Daniel Flitton @danielflitton.bsky.social · Jul 23

You should do this. (bottom of the page) www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpre...

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Daniel Flitton @danielflitton.bsky.social · Jul 22

A storm has gathered around AUKUS in recent weeks - excellent media reporting revealing debates about the project and wider defence concerns. Here, I've gathered a @LowyInstitute thread with a range of perspectives on what it all means for Australia. www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpre...

The AUKUS stress test: Alliance pressures and Australia's strategic choices

An Interpreter special series examining defence ties with the Trump White House and the nuclear-powered subs deal. (Getty Images Plus)

www.lowyinstitute.org

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Daniel Flitton @danielflitton.bsky.social · Jul 13

Should we expect the “don’t deal in hypothetical” response to journalist questions to get a work out - or will the Peter Dutton “inconceivable Australia will not join” answer be offered? www.ft.com/content/41e2...

US demands to know what allies would do in event of war over Taiwan

Trump administration says it is trying to prevent war but raises eyebrows by calling for commitments from Australia and Japan

www.ft.com

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Daniel Flitton @danielflitton.bsky.social · Jul 7

Made a mistake here - missed Keith Pitt, sent to the Vatican in Feb. So 4 is the number, and not quite as long between. Still fewer than the previous govt.

Daniel Flitton @danielflitton.bsky.social · Jul 7

Penny Wong makes her first political appointment to a diplomatic job in two-and-a-half years, sending former Labor MP Stephen Jones to be Australia's ambassador to OECD. The number of pollies at post is now 3, considerably lower than previous government. www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/pen...

www.foreignminister.gov.au

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Daniel Flitton @danielflitton.bsky.social · Jul 7

A luxury in my job to spot Anthony Albanese giving a weekend speech about Australia's wartime prime minister and have the foremost biographer of John Curtin write a quick comment for Interpreter offering essential context. Many thanks, John Edwards. www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpre...

Why Albanese is echoing Curtin’s call to America

A wartime declaration was as much about the confidence to see the world through Australian eyes.

www.lowyinstitute.org

Daniel Flitton @danielflitton.bsky.social · Jul 6

Extraordinary resilience www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07...

Australian survivor of London 7/7 attacks marks 20-year anniversary with 'performance of a lifetime'

After Gill Hicks was rescued from the wreckage of a tube train following London's 7/7 terrorist attacks in 2005, she was so severely injured her hospital identification wristband read, "One unknown — ...

www.abc.net.au