As Australia changes, perceptions in the region will catch up, particularly if we improve our public and cultural diplomacy and our international broadcasting. We have to show that we believe projecting Australia in Asian countries is not a waste of time and money.

The French and Germans do more on public diplomacy in Asia. We do not have consulates across China and India and Indonesia, as we should have. We do not even have an embassy in Mongolia.

Countries in East Asia are increasingly looking to pop culture, as an instrument of "soft power". And the "soft power" competition is alive and well in East Asia, with not just financial returns at stake, but also as a positive influence in the attitudes of target or importing countries.

A Win-Win Game for Players

Vice-President Hamid Ansari has underscored the need to be non-emotive in resolving water issues. Stressing on the need for display of “great wisdom and patience”...he said absolute positions would only create problems. “Resolving water disputes requires preventive diplomacy and regional collaborative mechanisms.''

The survey's banner findings concern American public opinion's shift towards Asia over Europe, particularly among the younger generation of Americans. For the first time ever, more Americans (51 percent) believe that Asian countries, such as China, Japan, or South Korea, are more important...

The exhibition "Post-Oil City: The History of the City's Future" presents a host of innovative city planning projects in Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Looking both to the past and to the future, the exhibition assembles eleven contemporary projects...