#244: Great Power Contestation in the Asia-Pacific

Many happy returns to the Dalai Lama who has just turned 90, but the reality that many are facing is that there may soon be a dispute over succession. The Dalai Lama’s supporters will choose their own reincarnated leader, but the Chinese government has long made it clear that the successor will come from China. Guest: Assoc. Professor Ruth Gamble (Deputy Director, La Trobe Asia) Recorded on 8th July, 2025.

South Korea faces a number of security challenges, living in the shadow of states such as China and Russia, and with its capital Seoul around 50km from the border it shares with North Korea. In times of contestation and with a new government in place it has the chance to reexamine its priorities and contribution to security in the Asia Pacific. Guest: Dongkeun Lee (Policy Fellow, Asia-Pacific Leadership Network) Recorded on 27th April, 2025.

The Australian government has released a new roadmap aiming to bolster critical minerals co-operation between Australia and India. Crucial to the economy and productivity, the mineral trade, the plan aims to drive research and trade in both countries, but can the plan also address resource security and climate concerns? Guests: Ambika Vishwanath (DFAT Maitri Principal Research Fellow, La Trobe Asia) Titiksha Vashist (Co-founder and Lead Researcher, Pranava Institute) Recorded 16th April, 2025

High in the Himalayas the waters of Asia’s eight largest rivers intersect. The rivers of the Asian Highlands are central to the world’s weather systems and activities in their water catchments have shaped the human past and will shape the future. These rivers support more than three billion people and provide water for 85% of Asia’s populations, and what happens to Asian highland rivers is of global significance. Today human activities are contributing to rising temperatures, which leads to glacial shrinkage and uncertain river flows. Highland rivers are suffering from multiple crises, including inept management, negative effects from poorly planned damming, and declining fish stocks, along with decreased biodiversity. This event explores the rivers of this critically important region and the iconological crisis that they face. The launch of Rivers of the Asian Highlands From Deep Time to the Climate Crisis by Ruth Gamble, Gillian G. Tan, Hongzhang Xu, Sara Beavis, Petra Maurer, Jamie Pittock, John Powers, Robert J. Wasson, published by Routledge. Speakers: Professor Emily T. Yeh (Geography, University of Colorado Boulder) Dipak Gyawali (Former Minister of Water Resources of Nepal) Dr Ruth Gamble (Deputy Director, La Trobe Asia) Ambika Vishwanath (Principal Research Fellow, La Trobe Asia) (Chair) Recorded on 27th May, 2025.

The Asia-Pacific is an area of great power contestation, of an intense rivalry between major powers, particularly the United States and China. How influence and dominance intersect in the Asia Pacific has major implications for the politics, economies and militaries of the countries in the region. Guest: Mike Bosack (Special Adviser for Government Relations,Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies) Recorded 29th April, 2025.

Australia's federal election has produced a significant majority for PM Anthony Albanese. While most of the campaign was dominated by domestic issues, the shadow cast by the Trump administration's highly destabilising policies was long. The re-elected government faces the most complex international environment in decades with the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza, an America led by a mercurial President who appears intent on wrecking the liberal international order and an ambitious and confident China. This panel will discuss the most immediate international challenges facing the newly elected government, how it is likely to approach these issues and what new direction a more confident and emboldened Labor government may take. Panel: The Hon Bill Shorten (Leader of the Australian Labor Party (2013 - 2019), Vice-Chancellor of the University of Canberra) Professor Andrea Carson (Political Communication, La Trobe University) Professor Nick Bisley (Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University) Professor Bec Strating (Director, La Trobe Asia) Recorded 13th May, 2025

The past six months in South Korea have been eventful - a declaration of martial law, the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, but the country continues and now there is an election on the 3rd June. The election is heated, and there are still protests on the streets of Seoul. How the votes could go, what is on the agenda, and how this will affect the world are all topics of debate. Guest: Dr Duyeon Kim (Adjunct Senior Fellow, Indo-Pacific Security Program, Centre for New American Security) Recorded on 29th February, 2025.

It is two weeks until an Australian federal election in which the presiding Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, will meet the challenger Peter Dutton in a campaign that has been dominated by domestic issues, but overshadowed by Trump. Guests: Professor Bec Strating (Director, La Trobe Asia) Professor Andrea Carson (Journalism, La Trobe University) Recorded on 16th April, 2025.

Late last year the Chinese government announced it had approved the world’s largest and most expensive, hydropower project on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in the Eastern Himalaya, near its disputed border with India. The project would generate around 60 gigawatts annually, nearly three times the capacity of the Three Gorges Dam, and help them meet their energy transition goals. What they actually intend to build and the impact it could have on the surrounding landscape and the people who call it home is the subject of much debate. Guests: Dr Ruth Gamble (Senior Lecturer, Archaeology and History, La Trobe University) Dr Hongzhang Xu (Senior Ecohydrologist, Murray Darling Basin Authority (MDBA)) Recorded on April 1st, 2025.

As President Donald Trump leads his second term, relationships between the US and Asian countries continue to evolve under his administration’s policies. While there has been much focus on Europe's reactions to a more transactional leadership style in the US, less has been discussed about how it will affect trade negotiations, military alliances, and geopolitical tensions in Asia. The United States, once a reliable ally to many, now represents a wild card, and how Trump views Asian nations including China, North Korea, Japan, and India, will have a measurable impact on trade, security, and diplomacy. Panel: Professor Bec Strating (Director, La Trobe Asia) Professor Nick Bisley (Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University) Ambika Vishwanath (DFAT Maitri Research Fellow, La Trobe Asia) Assoc. Professor Ruth Gamble (Deputy Director, La Trobe Asia)(Chair)