Asia Rising

Australia and India are at a key moment in their relationship. Both countries will have elections this year. India is poised to become the third largest economy in the world, and there are opportunities for both countries in broader co-operation in areas such as security and research.

A report released by Australia’s Ministry for Trade, Tourism and Investment judged that no single market over the next 20 years will offer more growth opportunities for Australia than India. Despite much in common there are still cool reactions in some quarters. Resistance to investment from the Indian conglomerate, Adani Group, for the proposed Carmichael coal mine, in Queensland, is the latest episode in a history of faltering engagement. How can Australia and India develop closer ties to their mutual benefit?

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A La Trobe Asia event in partnership with Asialink.

This event was held on the 19th March 2019 at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), Melbourne.

China’s Belt and Road strategy is acknowledged to be the most ambitious geopolitical initiative of the age. Covering almost seventy countries by land and sea, It symbolises a new phase in China’s ambitions as a superpower: to remake the world economy and crown Beijing as the new centre of capitalism and globalisation.

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The global geopolitical landscape is shifting towards Asia. It can be seen in China’s bold infrastructure project reopening the historic Silk Road and in the maritime success of port cities like Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore. Asia is rising but so are its connections to Central Asia, Turkey and Europe.

Perhaps the best word to capture the emerging global order is 'Eurasian'.

At the Melbourne launch of his new book The Dawn of Eurasia, Bruno Maçães discusses the increasing strategic significance of Eurasia, the dominance of China, Russia and the EU, and how the United States is redefining its place in between.

Bruno was in conversation with Dr Euan Graham, Executive Director of La Trobe Asia.

His visit was supported by Adelaide Writer’s Week. It was held at the State Library of Victoria on 7th March, 2019.

A second summit between the United States and North Korea has been cut short, with Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un walking away from the table suddenly with empty hands.

Is denuclearisation of North Korea realistic, and what does it mean for regional stability as a whole?

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The Kingdom of Bhutan, on the eastern edge of the Himalayas, is a country rarely visited by tourists. Entry is by application and extremely limited, assuring that only a select number of most dedicated tourists meet the criteria.

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In the Chinese region of Xinjiang, tens of thousands of ethnic Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities have been detained inside enormous extrajudicial ‘re-education camps’.

China faces mounting pressure from international human rights groups, governments, and academics to end these practices, but will anything help the Uyghurs?

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The South China Seas is a region in hot contestation, and is important to many surrounding countries in terms of territory, resources and trade routes. Who controls the South China Seas? Spoiler alert… it’s probably China.

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China and India share a 4000km long border, and it’s been a relationship that has had its tense moments. This situation is made all the more complicated by the Brahmaputra river - rivers recognise no borders, and its resources are always in high demand.

Guest: Dr Ruth Gamble (David Myers Research Fellow, La Trobe University)

For most defectors the decision to leave North Korea is never an easy one, and there are major difficulties in addressing the refugee crisis. Those crossing into China risk arrest and deportation, and the safety of those left behind is often in question.

Hyeonseo Lee defected from North Korea in 1997, and has since become an activist for human rights. Her memoir, The Girl with Seven Names, is a New York Times best seller.

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When Narendra Modi and the BJP won the 2014 election in India they did so under the slogan 'Achhe din aane waale hain' - Good days are coming.

With an impending election, we give Modi's progress a report card. Have good days come to India?

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