This week, Mike is joined by Darshana Baruah, associate fellow with the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, to discuss the strategic significance of the Indian Ocean to the United States and our allies and partners in the region. Darshana provides historical context for the new focus on the Indo-Pacific, and dives into the politics of the Indian Ocean region. Mike and Darshana also tackle the rise of Chinese influence and how the Indian Ocean fits in with U.S.-China strategic competition. Overall, the two agree that there needs to be more focus in the United States on building a presence in the Indian Ocean, and in dealing with the Indian Ocean as a whole, rather than dividing it into geographical silos.

The Indian Ocean and the Asia Chessboard

The “Asia Chessboard” features in-depth conversations with the most prominent strategic thinkers on Asia. Co-hosts Jude Blanchette, Freeman Chair in China Studies at CSIS, and Michael Green, Henry A. Kissinger Chair at CSIS and CEO of the United States Studies Centre, take the debate beyond the headlines of the day to explore the historical context and inside decision-making process on major geopolitical developments from the Himalayas to the South China Sea. Experience the hard calls and consequential debates that drive US policy towards this critical region of the world.

News

This week, Mike and Jude discuss the recent presidential legislative elections in Taiwan with Richard Bush, Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and the former chairman and managing director of the American Institute in Taiwan.

Taiwan Decides: Assessing Taiwan’s Presidential Election

Mike and Jude are joined by Demetri Sevastopulo, US-China Correspondent at the Financial Times. Demetri discusses covering China as a member of the news media and of what it takes to break news on China in a competitive market. Jude, Mike, and Demetri then exchange views on US-China relations today, including recent bilateral diplomacy and evolving cross-Strait dynamics. Next, they turn to debate on the US-China relationship in Washington, exploring the nature and bounds of bipartisan “consensus” on China. They conclude by discussing how nations around the world are viewing the US election.

A Journalist’s Take on the U.S.-China Relationship

Mike is joined by Lisa Curtis, Senior Fellow and Director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. The conversation begins with a review of the contemporary and historical factors encouraging India and the United States to expand their partnership. Next, they examined the remaining hurdles for the relationship, including the recent Sikh assassination plots. They conclude by discussing the perception of democratic backsliding in India and the role of India’s foreign policy choices in shaping US-India relations.

The State of the US-India Relationship

Mike is joined by Dr. John Kunkel, Senior Economics Adviser at the United States Studies Centre. Dr. Kunkel has worked as an economist, speech writer, policy analyst, and adviser to government and industry executive and previously served as Chief of Staff to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. He has a PhD in Economics from the Australian National University and is the author of "America's Trade Policy Towards Japan: Demanding Results", a study of US-Japan trade relations from Reagan to Clinton. 
The conversation begins by placing the Australian economy amid the shifting economic order of recent years. Mike and John note that the contemporary Australian debate has come late in adapting to these global economic changes, partially due to the country’s large resource base and overall economic resilience and flexibility. They discuss the unique position of Australia’s experience with globalization, which allowed it to avoid the worst of the domestic economic drawbacks that afflicted Europe and the United States. They then delve into the impact of ‘Bidenomics’ and US industrial policy on the economic debate in Australia, assessing how Australia is looking at these more protectionist policies to understand both the wrinkles and opportunities they present. After a discussion of evolving global economic dynamics and what a new American trade agenda should look like, they conclude by discussing an upcoming economic security conference in Australia, which is targeted at interpreting different international economic security policies, and tracking how these are transitioning over time.

Australia’s Economic Future in a Shifting Geo-economic Landscape

Mike is joined by Dr. Joseph Chinyong Liow, the Tan Kah Kee Chair of Comparative and International Politics at Nanyang Technological University, where he is also a Research Advisor for the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. 
The conversation begins with a review of the state of U.S.-China strategic competition in the aftermath of APEC 2023, and underscores regional discontent with the perceived lack of commitment from the United States to economic ties and international trade in the Indo-Pacific. They then turn to Singapore’s grand strategy that seeks to advance its interests amidst the discernible signs of escalating conflict among global powers and the ongoing transformation of the global order. Next they examine the new emphasis on ideological concerns in the foreign policy choices of states in the region. Finally, they conclude by discussing the conflict in Gaza and reactions in Singapore and the region.

The Indian Ocean and the Asia Chessboard

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