Global Politics

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: Professor Nick Bisley (Head of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University) Dr Dan Hu (Deputy Director, Australian Studies Centre, Beijing Foreign Studies University) Rowan Callick (Journalist, author, advisory board member of La Trobe Asia) Professor John Fitzgerald (Centre for Social Impact, Swinburne University of Technology) Dr Euan Graham (Executive Director, La Trobe Asia, La Trobe University)(Chair) 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. www.latrobe.edu.au/news/announceme…china-relations Guest: Dr Dan Hu (Deputy Director, Australia Studies Centre, Beijing Foreign Studies University) 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Australia, or defend us from them if they do, but now America's power in Asia is waning and those old assumptions are no longer valid.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: Professor Hugh White (Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University) Dr Euan Graham (Executive Director of La Trobe Asia) 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: Associate Professor Sonika Gupta (IIT Madras) Dr Ruth Gamble (David Myers Research Fellow, La Trobe University) Dr Alexander Davis (New Generation Network Scholar, La Trobe University) Chair: Dr Gerald Roche (Senior Research Fellow, Politics, La Trobe University) 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) Interviewer: Dr Euan Graham (Executive Director, La Trobe Asia) Producer: Matt Smith Recorded 23 June, 2019.

For the most part, China has seen Australia as an especially agreeable and non-troubling partner, as a predictable American security ally but with a friendly twist. This is changing, and the pressure is intensifying for Australia to rebuild its standings with Beijing. Find out more about the La Trobe Asia Brief on Australia-China relations. https://www.latrobe.edu.au/news/announcements/2019/australia-china-relations Guest: Rowan Callick (Journalist, author, advisory board member of La Trobe Asia) Follow La Trobe Asia on Twitter: www.twitter.com/latrobeasia Recorded 30 May, 2019.

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. Guest: Hyeonseo Lee

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? Guest: Emeritus Professor Robin Jeffrey (Politics, La Trobe University)

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 claims the region faces a serious threat from Islamist militants and separatists, stirring up tensions between the mostly Muslim Uyghur minority and the ethnic Han majority. After months of denial, the Chinese government now claims these camps are benign vocational training centers, but many outside observers assert that they are little more than prisons where detainees are subjected to political and cultural indoctrination without legal recourse. As more allegations come to light about the treatment of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities, China faces mounting pressure from international human rights groups, governments, and academics to provide access to these camps and put an end to any coercive and illegal practices. Speaking on Uyghurs in China and how the world should react are: - Nury A Turkel (Uyghur Human Rights Project) - James Leibold (Associate Professor, Politics and Philosophy, La Trobe University) - Louisa Greve (Uyghur Human Rights Project) - Euan Graham (Executive Director, La Trobe Asia) (chair) Co-hosted by the Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA) Victoria, on 7th December 2018.

There are 22 official languages in India, but more than 780 have been recognised. It can be a challenge to communicate across the country, and while the most common language is Hindi there’s communication of all sorts in a variety of dialects and scripts. Guest: Emeritus Professor Robin Jeffrey (Politics, La Trobe University) Dr Ian Woolford (Lecturer in Hindi, La Trobe University)

Religion and caste divides Indians in many ways - religion primarily between Hindu and Muslim, with Hindu further divided by a complex caste system which can influence how they work, how they live and even who they marry. While laws and social initiatives have tried to to counteract inequality and discrimination, it does still happen. Guest: Emeritus Professor Robin Jeffrey (Politics, La Trobe University)

With a fast-growing population and aspirations to join the throwaway prosperity of the developed world, India generates vast quantities of waste, sewerage and pollution. How does it live with and deal with the problem? Guest: Emeritus Professor Robin Jeffrey (Politics, La Trobe University) Assoc. Professor Assa Doron (College of Asia and the Pacific. Australian National University)

The Indian National Congress party in India has mostly looked to the Nehru-Gandhi family for leadership, making them powerful figures in India’s political landscape. Four members of the family have been Prime Minister of the country, but does the current leader, Rahul Gandhi, have what it takes? Guest: Emeritus Professor Robin Jeffrey (Politics, La Trobe University).

India goes to the polls in 2019, and the popular incumbent Narendra Modi is currently favoured to retain his position. With close to a billion people eligible to vote elections in India promises to be a busy time and an organisational quagmire. Guest: Emeritus Professor Robin Jeffrey (Politics, La Trobe University).

The vibrant fashion styles of Tokyo are notable for their colour and playfullness, and the shojo culture (girls) draw on anime, manga, literature, film and cosplay. The distinctive fashion movement has evolved to embrace culture and identity, and in this panel we will hear from four experts about shojo and kawaii (cute) studies. - Dr Lucy Fraser is a specialist on Japanese fairy tales and girl culture. - Dr Emerald L King is Japanese literature scholar and cosplayer. - Dr Masafumi Monden is an expert on Japanese fashion. - Megan Catherine Rose specialises in kawaii fashion communities in Tokyo. - Madman MC and cosplayer K (chair). It was co-hosted by La Trobe Asia and the Japan Foundation, Sydney. It was recorded on 1st November, 2018 at the State Library of Victoria.

In 2017 India celebrated 70 years of independence from British rule. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the country, calling for the people to set aside their differences. "India is about peace, unity and goodwill," said Modi. "We have to take the country ahead with the determination of creating a new India." Can a new India emerge from the old? How has it been shaped by its years in the British Empire? Guest: Emeritus Professor Robin Jeffrey (Politics, La Trobe University).

India will soon be unveiling the world’s tallest statue, the Statue of Unity. At 182m tall it towers over its nearest competitor by more than 50m. The statue in the Narmada district of Gujarat is of independence leader Vallabhbhai Patel. The project has been championed by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and is not without controversy. Guest: Dr Alexander Davis (New Generation Network Postdoctoral Fellow with La Trobe University and the Australian India Institute).

The Bund, or Wai Tan in Chinese, is a waterfront strip in central Shanghai. It is within the former Shanghai International Settlement, and so all the buildings there have a grand colonial feeling, right across the river from the Pudong district, with some of the most modern and radical skyscrapers you’ll see. Guest: Associate Professor James Leibold (Department of Politics and Philosophy, La Trobe University)

Asia is at a dangerous moment. China is rising fast, North Korea may be assembling more nuclear weapons, Japan is building up its military and The United States, for so long a stabilising presence in Asia, is behaving erratically. What can the world’s major powers can do to avoid an eruption of war? Guests: Associate Professor Brendan Taylor (Strategic Studies at the Australian National University, author of ‘The Four Flashpoints: How Asia Goes to War’)

In recent months there has been intense speculation in the media and in policy forums about China’s involvement in the Pacific. In turn, this has raised questions about the Australia’s historical and continuing role in the region, as well as evolving issues around sovereignty and neo-colonialism. Is the sovereignty of Pacific nations under threat? Or is China really providing aid only in order to help those nations attain sustainable development? Should Australia be doing more to support Pacific nations and, if so, what form should this take? Speakers: The Hon. John Brumby (Former Premier of Victoria, currently President of the Australia China Business Council, and incoming Chancellor of La Trobe University). Ms Makereta Komai (Manager/Editor, Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) and author of ‘Fiji’s Foreign Policy and the New Pacific Diplomacy’ in The New Pacific Diplomacy, edited by Greg Fry and Sandra Tarte, ANU Press, 2015) Chaired by Professor Nick Bisley (Head of School of Humanities and Social Sciences at La Trobe University) A public forum hosted by La Trobe University’s Pacific Research Community, La Trobe Asia, and the China Studies Research Centre. Held on 20th September, 2018.

East Asia’s security environment is changing rapidly. China’s power and confidence is rising, the US is increasingly introspective and uncertainty abounds about its power and purpose.As a new equilibrium has yet to be established in the security order, how can middle ranking countries like Japan and Australia manage their interests? Guests: Professor Nick Bisley (Head of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University) Dr Rebecca Strating (Lecturer in Politics, La Trobe University)

Asia is at a dangerous moment. China is rising fast, and its regional ambitions are growing. Reckless North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un may be assembling more nuclear weapons, despite diplomatic efforts to eradicate his arsenal. Japan is building up its military, throwing off constitutional constraints imposed after World War II. The United States, for so long a stabilising presence in Asia, is behaving erratically: The possibility of global catastrophe looms ever closer. Geopolitical expert Brendan Taylor is Associate Professor of Strategic Studies at the Australian National University. His new book The Four Flashpoints, examines the areas of Asia most likely to erupt in sudden and violent conflict: the Korean Peninsula, the East China Sea, the South China Sea and Taiwan. He is in conversation with Professor Nick Bisley, Head of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at La Trobe University. This event is the Melbourne book launch of Brendan Taylor's The Four Flashpoints: How Asia Goes to War, published by La Trobe University Press. It was recorded at the State Library of Victoria on 28th August 2018.

For decades Australia’s security and economic policy has been developed based on an established regional order coming out of World War II, but we are now in turbulent times. Strong personalities and strained tensions means a change in the balance of power in the Asian region. Guest: Gareth Evans (Former politician and cabinet minister during the Hawke and Keating governments and foreign minister from 1988 to 1996. Chancellor of the Australian National University).

Waste in India is an important and visible issue, and the country is struggling to manage and process recycling. While a reported 60% of plastics are recycled the volume of garbage is immense, and much of the industry is informal. Guest: Assoc. Professor Assa Doron (College of Asia and the Pacific. Australian National 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. The status of these refugees is an international issue, and they face a challenge of accessing support and services once they reach safety. While many settle in South Korea there is now a global North Korean diaspora, shaping the global policy debate towards North Korea. All of this could face imminent change with evolving international relations. SPEAKERS: Hyeonseo Lee North Korean refugee, Author The Girl with Seven Names Dr Danielle Chubb Senior Lecturer in International Relations, Deakin University Dr Jay Song Senior Lecturer in Korean Studies, University of Melbourne Dr Rebecca Strating (Chair) Lecturer in Politics, La Trobe University A La Trobe Asia event in partnership with the 2018 Bendigo Writers Festival. Held at the State Library of Victoria on 8th August, 2018.

Japan is one of many countries faced with an ageing population, but the problem is quite pronounced. The world's lowest fertility rate combined with a high life expectancy gives it the oldest mean age in the world of 46.1. A third of Japanese are aged over 60, and the country's population is falling. Guest: Associate Professor Nobuhiro Aizawa (Center for Asia-Pacific Future Studies at Kyushu University).

The mausoleum of Emperor Qin is a national treasure of China, and is known throughout the world for the army of terracotta warriors that guard his final resting place. The army of terracotta warriors is vast, and we are still discovering how they are made,and how best to preserve them. Guest: Xiuzhen Li (Senior Archaeologist, Emperor Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum)

On 12th June 2018 the world witnessed a peace summit between two long feuding leaders the United States president Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un. While the meeting was unprecedented but did it deliver anything worthwhile, or was it just a glorified photo-op? Guest: Dr Michael Cohen (Senior lecturer at the National Security College, Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific). The author of 'When Proliferation causes Peace: The Psychology of Nuclear Crises' published by Goergetown University Press.

In recent history the world witnessed a peace summit between the United States president Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim-Jong Un. While Trump cites his negotiating and business skills in bring Kim to the table, Kim would likely see it as an acknowledgement of the threat he poses with viable nuclear weapons. Does state acquisition of nuclear weapons lead to stability and peace or instability and crisis? Speaker: Dr Michael Cohen (Senior lecturer at the National Security College, Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific). The author of 'When Proliferation causes Peace: The Psychology of Nuclear Crises' published by Goergetown University Press. This talk was recorded on the 20th June 2018 at the city campus of La Trobe University.

Chinese philosophy has a long history stretching back more than two thousand years and covers schools of thought such as Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism, and Buddhism. It has had a deep influence on the cultural and political development of the nation and people of China. Guest: Professor John Makeham (Director of the China Studies Research Centre, La Trobe University).

China's economy has long been a story of success and growth, and being the second largest in the world has given it a position of power in the global economy. But could there be signs of an economic slowdown ahead of China? What steps would they have to take to safely navigate it? Guest: Professor Michael Pettis (Finance, Peking University).

India’s fast-growing population, and aspirations to join the throwaway prosperity of the developed world, generate vast quantities of waste, sewage and pollution. In attempting to mitigate these problems, India displays strengths and weaknesses, and the Clean India campaign has found successful techniques as well as discovering strategies that do not work. Some of India’s experiments hold lessons for Australia. The panel examines the Indian experience of waste removal, public sanitation, recycling and local-government dilemmas with special reference to India’s economic and population growth and to the role caste plays in the contest to control waste. SPEAKERS Assa Doron is Associate Professor in Anthropology at the College of Asia & the Pacific, Australian National University (ANU). Robin Jeffrey is an Emeritus Professor of Politics at La Trobe University and the ANU and chairs an advisory panel for the Australia-India Institute. Dolly Kikon, a lawyer from northeastern India, has a doctorate from Stanford University and is a lecturer at the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne. CHAIR Sally Warhaft is a Melbourne broadcaster, anthropologist and writer. Melbourne book launch of Waste of a Nation: Garbage and Growth in India by Assa Doron and Robin Jeffrey (Harvard University Press). This event is a collaboration between La Trobe Asia and the Australian India Institute (AII). It was held at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne on 31st May, 2018.

Asia’s elderly population is on track to reach a billion by 2050, and there are few governments prepared to meet this change, which will have wide social and economic consequences. Guest: Professor Thomas Klassen (Political Science at York University in Ontario, Canada).

The future of the Indo-Pacific region is being buffeted by an array of complex forces including the return of great power rivalry, rising illiberalism, and growing nationalism. SPEAKERS: The Hon Julie Bishop MP (Minister for Foreign Affairs and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party) Professor Nick Bisley (Head, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University) Tony Walker (Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University) Dr Rebecca Strating (Lecturer in International Relations, Department of Politics and Philosophy, La Trobe University) In partnership with La Trobe University’s Ideas and Society Program. Recorded at Grand Hyatt Melbourne on 1th April 2018.

Any visitor to China will be acutely aware of the amount of security, and nowhere is this more visible than the nation’s capital, Beijing. Guards are frequent, Cameras are plentiful, and the electronic data mining is extensive. GUEST: Bill Birtles (China Correspondent, Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Theme music: Asian Wonders by Butterfly Tea

The Chinese education system has had its criticisms, but many argue that it delivers, at least in the larger cities such as Shanghai and Hong Kong. Students are pushed to study, with many students attending after-school tutoring, and qualities such as respect and dedication are held to a higher standard than that of western education systems. GUEST: Lenora Chu (American journalist, author of Little Soldiers: An American Boy, a Chinese School, and the Global Race to Achieve’) Theme music: Asian Wonders by Butterfly Tea

Indonesia is a sprawling nation of islands across south-east Asia, and two environmental concerns are significant – deforestation and rising sea levels. The deforestation rate is one of the highest in the world, and rising sea levels threaten much of their territory, including the capital, Jakarta. GUEST: Dr Dirk Tomsa (Senior Lecturer, Politics and Philosophy, La Trobe University).

China operates on a scale that outclasses every other country, and are taking climate change seriously. As the world’s biggest polluter many would say that this is the way it should be. But does this give China an advantage and a global platform in green leadership? And are they making the most of it? GUEST: Dr Benjamin Habib (Lecturer, Politics and International Relations, La Trobe University).

North Korea is a country that can little afford a close examination of ecological impact. The environment exists and is protected as long as it is useful as a resource to the authoritative state. Despite this it holds an important place in the mythology of the country, and retaining elements of it is useful, as long as they can be exploited. GUEST: Dr Robert Winstanley-Chesters (Research Fellow, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University) Follow Robert Winstanley-Chesters on Twitter: @rwinstanleyc Follow Benjamin Habib on Twitter: @drbenjaminhabib Follow La Trobe Asia on Twitter: @LaTrobeAsia

India struggles with environmental imperatives. Its cities have the worst air pollution in the world, its iconic rivers are, in some places, literally dead and human development pressures will often override concerns of the natural environment. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made commitments to clean up India, but can he follow through with his promises? Are there more invested interests in pushing forward with industrial projects, and does India's environment have the time to be neglected? GUEST: Professor Amita Baviskar, (Sociologist, Economic Institute of Growth, Delhi). Follow La Trobe Asia on Twitter: @LaTrobeAsia

With China's emergence as a power of the first rank it has changed the Asian region and indeed the world. It has reordered established patterns of trade and investment, unsettled a longstanding balance of power in Asia, and brought old historical antagonisms to the surface. As President Xi Jinping consolidates his power, China increasingly presents a confident and at times assertive face to the wider world. But what does China want from its region? How much change would this represent? What options exist for Australia to influence how the People's Republic comports itself on the wider global stage? GUEST: The Hon. Kevin Rudd (Former Prime Minister of Australia, President of the Asia Society Policy Unit). Follow Kevin Rudd on Twitter: @krudd Follow Nick Bisley on Twitter: @NickBisley Follow La Trobe Asia on Twitter: @LaTrobeAsia