Asia Rising

On 30 June Donald Trump became the first serving US President to step into North Korea. Heavy on symbolism, the meeting with Kim Jong Un suggested a renewed impetus towards easing nuclear tensions.

Guest: Professor Gordon Flake (CEO,Perth USAsia Centre, University of Western Australia).

Recorded on 22 September, 2019.

Australia is one of the few countries whose shores lap both the Indian and Pacific oceans, and the old adage of “where you stand depends upon where you sit” rings true.

From Western Australia, the “Indo” component of the Indo-Pacific has clear geographical clarity. Western Australians look north and west to rising India and rising Indonesia. From the east coast of Australia, developments in the Pacific, including in the nearby Pacific Islands, necessarily capture strategic attention.

Geography plays an important role in driving different international and strategic outlooks in Australia. With an expansive coastline, Australia’s vastly dispersed maritime approaches give rise to very different geostrategic and defence considerations.

How Australia both recognises and reconciles these differences, and executes a cohesive national policy for Indo-Pacific engagement, will have a significant impact on the nation’s prosperity and security.

A La Trobe Asia/Perth USAsia Centre joint event.

Speakers:

Recorded on 22 August, 2019.

For the past twenty years Pakistan has wrestled with terrorism. More than 60,000 Pakistanis have been killed as a result of terrorist attacks. Terrorism has caused tension with Pakistan’s neighbouring countries, with Iran, India and Afghanistan accusing Pakistan of complicity in attacks on their soil. It has also complicated Pakistan's relations with the United States, especially after the discovery that Osama bin Laden had been hiding in the country for years after 9/11.

Successive governments, including the present one led by Imran Khan, have struggled to curb terrorist activity by a series of groups, despite international pressure. This La Trobe Asia event will explore the growth and persistence of terrorism in Pakistan, the impact it has had on the country, and the international response to the problem.

Speakers:

Recorded on 15 August 2019.

India’s government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has made a controversial move to usurp power from Jammu and Kashmir, the nation’s only Muslim-majority state, Modi says the move marked "a new era" that would free the region of "terrorism and separatism". The actions sparked outcry and unrest over the divided Himalayan territory, which both India and Pakistan claim in its entirety.

Guest: Associate Professor C. Christine Fair (Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University)

Recorded on 15 July, 2019.

For a long time Australia has taken it for granted that America can uphold the old US-led regional order by containing China’s bid to become the region’s leading power – which would keep us safe from any major threats from China. That is no longer something that is assured.

Find out more about the La Trobe Asia Brief on Australia-China relations.

Guest: Professor Hugh White (Emeritus, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University)

Recorded on 18 July, 2019.

The relationship with China is of critical importance to Australia. It is also increasingly complex, being influenced by economics, domestic factors and strategic forces.

Yet it is a relationship with underlying tension. China and Australia sometimes find themselves on different sides of the table in some bilateral issues, and disagreements over foreign investment in Australia, influence, and the interests of allied countries might prevent further successful co-operation or interaction.

This panel discusses the key challenges and opportunities confronting the bilateral relationship of China and Australia.

Panellists:

The Launch of Issue 2 of the La Trobe Asia Brief: Australia-China Relations: Finding the Elusive Balance.

Recorded at the State Library of Victoria on 30 July, 2019.

Australia has implemented a wide range of policies which, while not explicitly anti-China, are definitely interpreted that way. Other countries are taking notice and inspiration from such actions.

Find out more about the La Trobe Asia Brief on Australia-China relations.

Guest:

Recorded on 18 July, 2019.

For decades in Australia we have assumed that America will prevent any serious emerging military threats to Australia, or defend us from them if they do, but now America's power in Asia is waning and those old assumptions are no longer valid.

So what now? We have never really tried to defend ourselves independently, but now we may have no choice. Can it be done, and if so how? What do we really need to defend? What forces do we need? How much would they cost and how serious are the threats?

Speakers:

The Melbourne launch of How to Defend Australia by Hugh White, published by La Trobe University Press.

Presented at the State Library of Victoria on 17 July, 2019.

In recent years, the Indian and Chinese states have become increasingly assertive in the Himalaya. Driven in part by their mutual enmity and border disputes, both states have undertaken massive infrastructure developments, enabling vast new extractive projects, and a rush of troops and tourists from the plains to the mountains.

These political tensions have dangerous ecological consequences. All Himalayan states are building large dams to facilitate development. The Himalayan ice pack moderates monsoonal rains in Asia and feeds most of the region’s large rivers. This system provides 40 per cent of the world’s population with water. To make matters worse, the Himalaya is experiencing climate change at twice global averages.

With these political and environmental transformations, the lives of the region’s diverse peoples, including its refugee populations, along with broader ideas of citizenship and belonging, are being changed and challenged.

Speakers:

Chair:

Presented at the La Trobe University City Campus on 26 June, 2019.

When talking about Chinese international politics, the loudest voices are often western ones, and the Chinese perspective is limited to official party lines.

In a rare interview, Professor Zhu Feng gives his thoughts on the US/China trade war, the South China Sea, China relations with Australia, and China's activity in the South Pacific.

Guest: Professor Zhu Feng (Executive Director, China Center for Collaborative Studies of the South China Sea, Nanjing University)

Recorded 23 June, 2019.