Episode 6: Are we hiding under the security blanket of the American alliance?

Recorded at Malcolm Turnbull’s Sovereignty and Security forum held in Canberra. Is Trump 2.0 an aberration, or a seismic 8 on the Richter scale of international relations? We cannot grit our teeth and ride this out. We must confront reality.  Professor James Curran reminds us of the history between Australia and America, and what it can tell us about our future prospects. These are the closing remarks to the Sovereignty and Security forum.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Recorded at Malcolm Turnbull’s Sovereignty and Security forum held in Canberra. This panel examines how Australia pursues its national interest in a “might is right” world, and if we should work with other countries to mitigate the economic damage from Trump’s tariff war.  Panellists include: Professor the Hon Gareth Evans AC KC FASSA FAIIA, Cabinet Minister throughout the Hawke-Keating governments, and Australian National University Chancellor 2010-19; Professor Shiro Armstrong, professor of economics at ANU, Director of the Australia-Japan Research Centre, Editor of the East Asia Forum, and Director of the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research; Dr Alan Dupont AO, graduate of the Royal Military College Duntroon and the US Foreign Service Institute, and has worked extensively at the interface of security, politics, business and technology;  John McCarthy AO FAIIA,former Ambassador to Vietnam, Mexico, Thailand, the United States of America, Indonesia, Japan and High Commissioner to India, is currently a Vice Chancellor’s Fellow at Melbourne University.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Recorded at Malcolm Turnbull’s Sovereignty and Security forum held in Canberra. In the absence of support from America, should Australia adopt an Echidna Strategy - friendly to those who don’t mean us harm, and spikey and indigestible to those who do?  This panel discusses the big question of whether Australia can defend itself’, and how.  Panellists include: Sam Roggeveen, Director at the Lowy Institute, and author of The Echidna Strategy: Australia’s Search for Power and Peace, senior strategic analyst at the Office of National Assessments, an analyst in the Defence Intelligence Organisation; Major General Mick Ryan AM (Rtd), served for 35 years in the Australian Army including in East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan as well as on the U.S. joint staff in Washington DC. Because of his writing about the war in Ukraine, and support for its efforts, Mick was sanctioned by the Russian government in 2022; Professor (Brigadier Retd) Ian Langford PhD DSC and Bars served for more than 31 years in the Australian Defence Force as a senior military officer. He is the Executive Director of Security & Defence PLuS, a research initiative between Kings College London, Arizona State University and the University of New South Wales.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Recorded at Malcolm Turnbull’s Sovereignty and Security forum held in Canberra. This panel discusses the viability of AUKUS in its current form, and what needs to change to deliver sovereign undersea warfare capabilities that Australia can afford to own and man. Panellists include: Dennis Richardson AO, served as Secretary of Defence, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, was the Director General of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) for almost a decade to 2005, and was the Australian Ambassador to the United States for 5 years until 2010; Jennifer Parker, served for 20 years with the Royal Australian Navy, specialising in Principal Warfare Officer. She was second in command of the HMAS Darwin, our guided missile frigate; Rear Admiral Peter D Briggs AO OAM  served in the Royal Australian Navy for 40 years, specialising as a submarine operator. He was in Command of HMAS Stirling, and was Head of Submarine Capability resolving Collins introduction into service issues.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Recorded at Malcolm Turnbull’s Sovereignty and Security forum held in Canberra. This panel discusses the nature of the security threats Australia faces, and reassesses the assumptions that have informed our economic, foreign and defence policies.  Panellists include: Professor Hugh White, Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies at ANU, founding Director of ASPI, worked for several Labor Leaders, and served in the Defence Department; Dr Geoff Raby, Australia’s Ambassador to China from 2007-11, served as Ambassador to the WTO in Geneva, and Ambassador to APEC; Dr Heather Smith, Secretary and Deputy Secretary across a range of portfolios, including Deputy Director-General of the Office of National Intelligence, and co-led the 2024 Independent Review of Australia’s National Intelligence Community. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is our affection for America and Americans blinding us to the reality that Trump’s political values are more aligned to the “might is right”  world view of Putin than they are to ours in Australia?  Malcolm Turnbull’s opening remarks to the Sovereignty and Security forum held in Canberra with over 100 national security and foreign policy experts to discuss policies including the AUKUS submarine project, trade, defence and regional diplomacy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malcolm is on the ground in the US in the final days of the battle for the White House. The race is tight. If Donald J Trump wins, what would a second term look like? What would it mean for Australia? With the prospect of Trump riding back into Washington for another four years, Malcolm tells the story of his own interactions with Trump and how he knew immediately the best strategy to adopt to take on a notorious bully. This is an incredible insight from a former prime minister who dealt directly with the man who could soon become the most powerful leader in the free world again.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chinese President Xi Jinping's unshakable determination to unite mainland China and Taiwan is one of our most significant threats to geopolitical stability.  Shirley Lin, a Taipei native, is the founder and chair of the Center for Asia Pacific Resilience and Innovation, or CAPRI. For decades, she's been at the forefront of defending democracy in Taiwan, a testament to the island's unwavering spirit.  In this episode, she delves into the evolution of Taiwan's identity, the soft power China has employed in attempts to sway the people of Taiwan, and the influence of the US policy of ambiguity.  While international observers might expect the war for Taiwan to be won in a military battle, she asserts that it is already being fought in the hearts and minds of its people. Available on LiSTNR  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The clock of war is ticking in Taiwan – and it’s up to the west to stop it. Matt Pottinger worked as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal in China. He's a former U.S. Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and was President Trump's Deputy National Security Advisor.  In recent decades, Taiwan has cemented itself as a cornerstone of technological manufacturing, producing chips essential to almost every aspect of modern life. It is also of immense geographical importance in the region and vital to international trade routes.  The government in Taiwan, still called the Republic of China,  does not dare to declare itself an independent Taiwan for fear of provoking an invasion from mainland China.  In this episode, Matt Pottinger calls for urgent and deliberate action—in the form of military hard power—to stop China from invading Taiwan and prevent a geopolitical catastrophe for the world. Available on LiSTNRSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How can we build a society where different opinions are met with curiosity and understanding? Dame Louise Richardson is a counter-terrorism expert, author and the President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and she has some thoughts. In this episode, Dame Louise and Malcolm argue how our environments can bring people back to the centre, reduce division, and inoculate against extremism. Dame Louise believes the public is less divided than politicians would lead you to believe, but the American political system and broader media ecosystem do not encourage moderation.So, what can we learn from unifying institutions like the BBC and NHS? How can universities create space for people to disagree and understand? And is it possible to bring an increasingly partisan United States back together? Available on LiSTNRSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.