Asia Rising

When Rodrigo Duterte was elected to the office of president in 2016 one of his main election promises was to clean up the drug trade. And he was quite open about how he was going to do it. The language he used was provocative and ruthless – those involved in the drug trade would be dealt with, using as much force as necessary.

For those working in the Filipino media and covering these events it can be a challenge to get accurate information – people are reluctant to talk, and the government wants to keep the full extent of the drug war away from the public.

Guest: Rambo Talabong (Multimedia Journalist, The Rapper)

Recorded 23rd November 2022.

As tensions in the Indo-Pacific increase and new security issues emerge, Australia, the United States, India and Japan have come together with the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue to support the Indo-Pacific.

The event will explored the key issues and challenges of the Quad, and the role of each state in emerging security issues Indo-Pacific.

This event was a part of the QUADMIN Emerging Leaders Dialogue, bringing together emerging leaders from Australia, the United States, India and Japan. QUADMIN is supported by the U.S. Embassy Canberra.

Panel:

Stuti Bhatnagar (Research Fellow, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University)

Kate Clayton, (Research Officer La Trobe Asia)

Tom Corben (Research Fellow, Foreign Policy and Defence Program, United States Studies Centre)

Eleanor Shiori Hughes (Defense Analyst, The Asia Group)

Associate Professor Bec Strating (Director, La Trobe Asia)(Chair)

Recorded 16 November 2022

India is a country rich in food variety and tastes, but access to food has changed, bringing options of western foods of differing nutritional value. With changes in diet comes a change to health, and wider implications on the health system of the country.

Guests:

Dr Sabrina Gupta (Department of public health, La Trobe University)

Dr Jency Thomas (Department of Microbiology, Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, La Trobe University)

Dr Rahul Krishna Puvvada (PhD graduate, Department of Microbiology, Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, La Trobe University)

Recorded 10th November 2022.

Mr John Howard, former Prime Minister of Australia (1996 - 2007) on Asia, his legacy, and Australia's place in the region.

His new book, A Sense of Balance, is published by HarperCollins Australia.

Recorded 19 October 2022.

The United Nations has declared 2022 the start of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, aiming to raise awareness of the ongoing global loss of Indigenous languages.

Ongoing attacks on human rights defenders and restrictions on civil society are critically challenging the effectiveness of these efforts.

Read Indigenous Language Rights and the Politics of Fear in Asia - Issue 7 of The La Trobe Asia Brief.

Dr Gerald Roche (Senior Research Fellow in Politics at La Trobe University, La Trobe Asia fellow).

Recorded 29 September 2022.

Approximately 7,000 languages are signed or spoken in the world today, more than half of them by Indigenous people. These languages are critical to services like education and healthcare, and their neglect threatens the health and wellbeing of Indigenous people. Language is literally a matter of life and death.

The United Nations has declared 2022 the start of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages, highlighting the need for governments and societies to amplify the voices and knowledge of Indigenous peoples globally, and involve them directly in the process. However, in Asia’s largest and most linguistically diverse countries, human rights defenders and civil society are under attack, creating a climate of fear that poses serious challenges to successfully implementing the International Decade of Indigenous Languages.

This event launched the new issue of the La Trobe Asia Brief: Indigenous Language Rights and the Politics of Fear in Asia, authored by Gerald Roche, Madoka Hammine and Tuting Hernandez.

Panel:

Dr Gerald Roche (Senior Research Fellow, Politics, La Trobe University)

Professor Jakelin Troy (Director, Indigenous Research, University of Sydney)

Dr Dolly Kikon (Senior Lecturer, Development Studies, University of Melbourne)

Professor James Leibold (Politics, La Trobe University) (Chair)

Recorded on 4 October 2022.

With China mostly closed to international journalists accurate reporting is a challenging prospect, putting those engaged in it in danger from the Chinese government and their supporters.

Guest: Vicky Xu (Journalist and Author, lead researcher of Uyghurs for Sale)

Recorded 17 August 2022.

Angkor is an archaeological site in northern Cambodia, and was home to the impressive capitals of the Khmer Empire between the 9th and 15th centuries. It is one of the most important archaeological sites in Southeast Asia, and an ongoing project aims to recreate it virtually.

Find out more about the Virtual Angkor project.

Guest:

Dr Bernard Keo (Archaeology and History, La Trobe University)

Recorded on 9 May, 2022.

The track record of human rights in China is of global concern, with allegations of religious and ethnic repression, lack of freedom of information and civil liberties, violations of gender rights, and detainment of those who would speak out against the Chinese Communist Party.

While the Chinese government is focused on maintaining ‘social stability’, the response of states within the international community remains largely non-confrontational, despite the growing mountain of evidence of human rights violations and repressions. Some fear China is gradually altering the entire international human rights system by stealth.

What is the true situation of human rights in China? What response should be expected from the global community? What role can public activism play in improving the situation for Chinese people?

Panel:

Recorded on 17 August, 2022.

What are the broad strategic trends and security challenges affecting the Asian region, now and into the future?

Guests:

Host:

Recorded on 21 July, 2022.