Engaging with Asia : the Chifley government and the New Delhi conferences of 1947 and 1949

This article is a study of the Chifley government's foreign policy towards Asia, in particular India and Indonesia, as evidenced by Australia's attendance at the 1947 Asian Relations Conference and the 1949 New Delhi Conference on the Indonesian-Dutch conflict. Australia's presence at these two conferences provides an ideal opportunity to examine the Chifley government's response to the momentous changes that occurred in post-war Asia as a result of the dismantling of the European colonial world order. Through detailed examination of the archival material and contemporary accounts generated from Australia's involvement in the New Delhi conferences, this article will argue that despite significant political constraints, the Chifley government did adopt a distinctive and innovative policy towards the emergent nations of Asia in the immediate post-war years.

Drugs, ships and containers : how anti-terrorism benefits shipping security

Using ships to transport illicit drugs is not new; nor is the practice of concealing them
in shipping containers decreasing – or is it? This article questions whether recent container security initiatives created to stop terrorism have also achieved a decrease in the use of containers for smuggling illicit drugs. Or, are these maritime security regimes creating a false sense of achievement, being too limited in scope to be truly useful in this secondary role? Logically, improved detection of illicit drugs in containers shipped by sea is more likely when port personnel are better trained, x-ray scanners installed, port fencing improved and official collaboration encouraged. However, since the number of containers being electronically screened and physically searched has only marginally improved, the question is, is it enough?