Interview: America and Trump's Asia Strategy in 2025

Asia’s modern resurgence has transformed the global economy, lifting hundreds of millions out of poverty through globalization, supply chains and market integration. Yet this success has also generated new geopolitical rivalries and nationalist tensions, placing the region at a critical crossroads between continued prosperity and growing risk. What powered Asia’s economic transformation — and are globalization and supply chains now becoming sources of vulnerability rather than strength? How are intensifying geopolitics and nationalism reshaping the region’s future? And what leadership and policy choices will determine whether Asia’s next chapter is defined by cooperation or conflict? The launch of Asian Crucible: Globalization, Geopolitics and the Contest for the Future by Nick Bisley. Speakers: Professor Nick Bisley (Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research), La Trobe University) Dan Flitton (Managing Editor, Lowy Interpreter) The Hon. John Brumby AO (Chancellor, La Trobe University) Dr Ruth Gamble (Director, La Trobe Asia) Recorded 5th March, 2026.

The far north-eastern Indian state of Nagaland has a distinct history, and the Naga communities who call it home face a range of complex dilemmas. Preserving cultural rights and traditions within the framework of the Indian state presents ongoing challenges — particularly in relation to the intricacies of land ownership and governance. Guest: Menokhono Sakhrie (Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Tata Institute of Social Sciences) Host: Dr Ruth Gamble (Director, La Trobe Asia) Recorded 26th November, 2025.

The global trading system is under growing strain. Security risks are increasing, free trade is in decline, and a new economic order is emerging in which nations increasingly view trade as a tool for gaining strategic and political advantage. Long-standing assumptions about openness, efficiency, and interdependence are being challenged by rising protectionism and geopolitical rivalry. How will changes in trade impact global supply chains? How can Australia respond as trade becomes weaponised? What role can diplomacy play in rescuing global trade? The launch of the new issue of Australian Foreign Affairs. Panel: Professor Shiro Armstrong (Director, Australia-Japan Research Centre, Australian National University) Melissa Conley Tyler (Executive Director, Asia-Pacific Development, Diplomacy & Defence Dialogue) Professor Nick Bisley (Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research), La Trobe University) Professor Bec Strating (Director, La Trobe Centre for Global Security) (Chair) Recorded 26th February, 2026.

Despite differing geographies and security pressures, Australia and the Republic of Korea face shared challenges arising from intensifying strategic competition and growing regional uncertainty. Both countries have an opportunity for a closer collaboration to promote regional stability and help shape a resilient multipolar order. How can Australia and Korea move beyond defence-industrial cooperation to advance a broader security partnership? Where do opportunities for practical, mutually beneficial collaboration lie? And how can institutional cooperation be strengthened to give the Australia–Korea relationship greater strategic depth and durability? Read the issue of the La Trobe Asia Brief here. Panel: Mr Jimin Kim (Charge d’affaires, Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Australia)(introduction) Professor Bec Strating (Director, La Trobe Centre for Global Security) Associate Professor Danielle Chubb (International Relations, Deakin University) Professor Sungyong Lee (Peace and Conflict Studies, Soka University) Dr Ruth Gamble (Director, La Trobe Asia) (Chair) Recorded on 19th February, 2026.

The United States — and indeed the world — is now one year into Donald Trump’s second presidency. While many developments were foreshadowed during his first term, 2025 has nevertheless been an eventful year, marked by decisions and dynamics that have had wide-ranging global consequences. Guests: Professor Nick Bisley (Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research), La Trobe University) Professor Bec Strating (Director, La Trobe Centre for Global Security) Recorded on 4th February, 2026.

The Indo-Pacific is often described as a maritime region, but the oceans here are far more than geography. They are trade corridors, food sources, energy highways, and increasingly, sites of strategic competition. How states think about security at sea—what some now call blue security—is becoming central to regional order. Dr Troy Lee-Brown (Research Fellow, University of Western Australia Defence and Security Institute, and Project Manager of the Blue Security Program) Recorded on 19th January, 2026.

Russia has long imagined itself as a great power looking westward while sitting firmly in the east. That tension—between geography and identity, ambition and capability—shapes the way it approaches Asia. Guest: Dr Ian Storey (Senior Fellow at the ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore)

China’s presence in Latin America has expanded rapidly over the past two decades, reshaping the region’s economies, politics, and strategic landscape. From major infrastructure projects and digital ecosystems to shifting patterns of trade, finance, and influence, Beijing’s role is becoming both more complex and more contested. Guest: Margaret Myers (Managing Director, Institute for America, China, and the Future of Global Affairs, Johns Hopkins SAIS; Senior Advisor, Inter-American Dialogue) Recorded 19th November, 2025

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has upended global geopolitics — and its ripple effects have reached deep into Southeast Asia. How has the Kremlin’s “pivot to Asia” evolved under Vladimir Putin and has Russia been able to advance its economic and geopolitical interests in Southeast Asia? How did regional states react to Russian aggression against Ukraine and what explains their differing responses to the invasion? In this book launch event, Dr Ian Storey discusses his new book Putin’s Russia and Southeast Asia: The Kremlin’s Pivot to Asia and the Impact of the Russia-Ukraine War, exploring Russia’s strategic aims, energy diplomacy, and defence ties in the region. How resilient are these relationships in the face of war, sanctions, and shifting alliances? And what does this mean for Southeast Asia’s future place in a fragmenting world order? Recorded on 25th November, 2025.

Across the Indo-Pacific rising geopolitical tensions, democratic backsliding, and climate-related instability are increasing the risk of violent conflict. Yet far less attention — and funding — is devoted to preventing crises before they occur. Early-warning, multi-track diplomacy, locally grounded peacebuilding, and whole-of-government coherence are all strategies that can be employed to develop a more effective approach. How can governments, aid agencies, and regional bodies work together to spot risks early and build resilience? What part should Australia play in linking diplomacy, aid, and security? And how can prevention be woven into regional cooperation across Southeast Asia and the Pacific? Panel: William Leben (Senior Analyst, Development Intelligence Lab) Assoc. Professor Jasmine Westendorf (Co-Director of Initiative for Peacebuilding, University of Melbourne) Dr Natalie Sambhi (Executive Director, Verve Research) Professor Bec Strating (Director, La Trobe Asia) Recorded on 20th November, 2025.