Podcasts about indo pacific

How concerned should Australia be about the UK's ability to deliver its side of AUKUS?What role can middle powers play as the international order becomes more fragmented?How should Australia and its partners balance alliances with their own national interests in a more contested world? In part two of our geopolitical update, Sharryn Parker is joined by Charles Edel, Dilnoza Ubaydullaeva and Euan Graham to discuss AUKUS, the role of middle powers in a changing world and how Australian can build greater strategic agency while still deepening the US alliance.Dr Charles Edel is Senior Adviser and Australia Chair at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies and an expert on statecraft and great power competition.Dr Dilnoza Ubaydullaeva is a Lecturer at the ANU National Security College (NSC) and an expert on Central Asia and the positioning of the Global South in world power.Dr Euan Graham is an Expert Associate at NSC whose research spans military strategy and deterrence in the Indo-Pacific.Sharryn Parker is Senior Policy Advisor at NSC, on secondment from the Department of Defence.TRANSCRIPTShow notes:Listen to part 1 of this geopolitical update hereNSC academic programs – find out moreNavigating Australia's Future in an Uncertain World - Address to the National Press Club of Australia by Dr Kevin RuddJohn Howard on 9/11, geopolitics and Australia's securityWe'd love to hear from you! Send in your questions, comments, and suggestions to NatSecPod@anu.edu.au. Follow us on LinkedIn or Instagram @nsc.anu. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss out on future episodes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Mike is joined by Dr. Sheena Chestnut Greitens, Associate Professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. They discuss how regime survival concerns among the Indo-Pacific's authoritarian powers are shaping their foreign relations and the region's broader strategic competition. They explore the agency of authoritarian leaders influences grand strategy, the role of domestic political considerations in foreign policy decision-making, and how the United States and its allies and partners can prevent their efforts to sustain credible deterrence in the Indo-Pacific from being leveraged by authoritarian regimes to advance their political and security narratives at home and abroad.

Shrek left the building, so Sam the Waterman grabbed the mic, and it went about how you'd expect. Recorded on night two of the first ever 1770 Beginner Spearfishing Retreat run without the big fella, this one starts with a full trivia night: buddy rules, Boyle's Law, world record bluefin, Molchanov's 136 m dive and a Bali Files round about Noffs' travel disasters. Then Ben Rennie wins the Shrek-impersonation bonus with a Killshot ad read, and "Bulletproof Buddy Protocol" gets exposed as something nobody has ever heard Shrek say. After that the students and instructors "dob in a legend": Tom Smythe tells the story of a cobia fight that ended in a tangle of float lines, Ting shoots her first fish ever (having never freedived before), and seasick Matt comes back to crack 10 m and have a fish in the boat within 25 minutes. It's for anyone who's wondered what a Noob Spearo retreat is like from the inside, and for every spearo who keeps being told to "slow down". Important Timestamps 00:00:41 — Sam the Waterman takes over the intro. It's the first 1770 retreat ever run without Shrek, and the crew report on how it's going. 00:01:00 — Meet the crew: Mark (lead), Bri, Ben Rennie (camera and scorer), Nick and Tom Smythe (up from Coffs) and Brad (Gold Coast). 00:03:15 — Round 1, Safety and Fundamentals: the four-word buddy rule, and the bonus "Noob Spearo version" nobody has heard of. 00:04:10 — Which gas hyperventilation strips from your blood, and why that sets you up for a blackout. 00:05:40 — The recovery breathing every instructor drills for the moment you surface, then 10 m neutral buoyancy and Boyle's Law. 00:06:40 — Ikejime and the thing it delays (spelling was marked strictly, so "rigatoni mortis" didn't count). 00:07:50 — Answers. "Bulletproof Buddy Protocol" gets a room full of blank faces. 00:10:30 — Round 2, World Records: Terry Maas's 1982 bluefin, a Kiwi who shares his name with a Rat Pack crooner, Greg Pickering's Spanish mackerel from Dorre Island and Carlos Siqueira's 301 kg blue marlin. 00:13:30 — True or false: the women's Indo-Pacific blue marlin record beats the men's. 00:17:00 — Round 3, Freediving and Physiology: the mammalian dive reflex, why most blackouts happen in the last 10 m, samba/LMC, Molchanov's 136 m CWT and Mifsud's static record. 00:21:30 — Round 4, Equipment: why spearos avoid ultra-low-volume masks, shackles vs shark clips, what a flasher does, and speargun rubber in the tropics vs the Arctic. 00:23:30 — The Shrek-impersonation bonus. Ben Rennie's Killshot ad read takes the three points. 00:26:40 — Equipment answers, where Shrek loses a point for his own flasher answer. 00:27:50 — Round 5, the Noob Spearo round: Full Froth No Ego, the launch year, 99 Tips and The Floater (a.k.a. "the big turd"). 00:32:50 — Round 6, The Bali Files: how many things went wrong for Noffs on the way to Bali, the instructor course in Amed, Adam's mindset tools (the nana voice, the poo emoji, no plan B) and the discipline that "feels like cheating". 00:36:50 — Final scores. Nick takes the trivia crown with 21. 00:38:00 — Mark wraps day two: instructors scouting reefs before the students even got wet, and a 100% pass rate. 00:38:50 — Fish comp results: Holly and Andy tie for first, Zach's big fish, Ting's award for the loudest stoke, Matt's one-shot best kill and Sam winning the instructor comp again. 00:42:10 — Dob in a Legend starts. Fozzie on Matt coming back from the dead, Zach's cobia, and staying calm on the drop. 00:44:00 — Brad's instructor takeaway: teaching others keeps you learning. 00:45:15 — Bri on how buddy care between strangers turned into the highlight of the trip. 00:49:10 — Tom Smythe's cobia story: a float line wrapped around two spearos, a fish fighting hard, and then a second "cobia" that turned out to be a shark. 00:53:00 — Tegan's first fish is a coral trout, and her lesson: go slow, but not too slow. 00:55:10 — Andy's trout lesson: dive-bomb them, and wait when they square up. 00:58:30 — Nick on keeping your eyes on the fish through the duck dive, and why a spearo sometimes has to dive before the perfect breathe-up. 01:01:40 — Dan on persistence, and on getting properly familiar with your gear before the trip. 01:03:40 — Holly learns to slow down, and Sam admits what his GoPro footage revealed about his own "slow" diving. 01:07:10 — Chris, a Sydney spearo, gets his first taste of the Great Barrier Reef. Dropping on top of coral trout changed everything for him. 01:12:20 — Kate on women getting into spearfishing, and why the no-ego vibe matters. 01:15:30 — Zach, the retreat's biggest frother, on why a group celebration beats his own cobia. 01:18:10 — Ben Rennie wins People's Choice, then shares Alex's parrotfish moment and his motto: "you make your own luck". 01:21:40 — Alex takes home two fixes: the 45-degree eyes-on-fish descent and a splash-free duck dive. 01:23:10 — Matt: slow down, and remember the look on everyone's faces when the reef came into view. 01:25:00 — Ting's first ever freedive and first ever fish, while understanding "maybe 30%" of what the Aussies were saying. 01:28:10 — Mark on leading without Shrek, what goes on behind the scenes, and Matt and Ting's comeback from 5 m to 10 m. 01:34:30 — Sign-off, with a group "Full Froth, No Ego". Links Mentioned, Partner Deals and Discounts + Froth Ben Rennie — @benrennie_ Sam the Waterman — @[CHECK: find Sam's handle] Instructor socials — Mark, Bri, Nick, Tom Smythe, Brad: @[CHECK: add handles] Next 1770 Beginner Spearfishing Retreat — [PROMO PLACEHOLDER — confirm current link with Shrek] The Bali freediving instructor course episode (source of the Bali Files round) — [CHECK: add episode link] Blue Water Hunting and Freediving by Terry Maas — [add Amazon affiliate link] 99 Tips to Get Better at Spearfishing — Listen on Audible The Floater email newsletter — Sign up here

Join us for another instalment of our series with Women in International Security - Australia. For this episode, we're joined by Susan Coles, a senior Australian diplomat whose pathway into international affairs began through the United Nations and has since spanned diplomacy, trade negotiations and ambassadorial appointments across the Indo-Pacific. Susan has served as Australia's Ambassador to the Indian Ocean region and Consul-General to French Polynesia, and has worked at the intersection of international law, trade, security and gender equality throughout her career.

Roughly $4 billion a month. That is what Iran's sanctioned oil trade with China was worth when it ran normally, according to Charlie Brown, and the revenue goes directly to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.Brown, a former U.S. Navy officer who heads the Iran Tanker Tracking Program at United Against a Nuclear Iran, joins Ray Powell and Jim Carouso from Singapore to explain how Iranian crude reaches China's teapot refineries by way of an anchorage 80 nautical miles from Singapore, often relabeled “Malaysian blended crude.”He calls Malaysia's Eastern Outer Port Limits “parking on the side of a superhighway.” The location is within Malaysia's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), shallow enough to anchor and close enough to Singapore for resupply. Ships go there, he says, “precisely because they won't be disrupted.” None anchor in Indonesian waters, where Jakarta's enforcement is stronger across its full maritime zone, having once seized the Iranian-flagged Arman 114.Malaysian fines run just five figures against cargoes worth $100 million, which Charlie calls a slap on the wrist. This past January, Malaysian authorities detained two false-flagged tankers conducting a transfer off Penang, then released them with a minimal fine, which changed nothing at the Johor anchorage. Malaysia updated its EEZ Act in June 2026 to cover illegal anchoring and unpermitted cargo transfers across its maritime zone, but Brown says nothing has really changed.Also in this episode: what the U.S. blockade has and has not stopped, why 26 Iranian-flagged tankers sailed within days of the MoU signing, and Brown's argument that roughly a third of these ships are now stateless and can be seized by any nation on the high seas.Be sure to subscribe for your weekly Indo-Pacific briefing.Follow Charlie on X at @supbrow or United Against a Nuclear Iran at @UANIFollow us on X, @IndoPacPodcast, LinkedIn or FacebookFollow Ray Powell on X, @GordianKnotRay, or LinkedIn, or check out his maritime transparency work at SeaLightFollow Jim Carouso on LinkedInSponsored by BowerGroupAsia, a strategic advisory firm that specializes in the Indo-Pacific

Europe's security order is evolving, but is the Old Continent still able to build the capabilities, resilience and political confidence needed to defend it?Wojciech Przybylski speaks with Florence Gaub, Director of the Research Division at the NATO Defence College, about Europe's changing security environment, the limits of old assumptions and the need for strategic foresight.Gaub, who leads research on future challenges relevant to NATO, argues that Europe does not need a new security architecture. NATO and the EU already provide one, but Europeans must now take far greater responsibility for their own defence, particularly as the US focuses increasingly on China and the Indo-Pacific.Can Europe close its capability gaps in time? And what will it take for Europeans to move from dependence to genuine strategic responsibility? Listen to the episode.Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7aA9iqd8rUxFMYMemjikuwApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/pl/podcast/visegrad-insight-podcast/id1515725435Substack: https://visegradinsight.substack.com/podcastSubscribe to Visegrad Insight for access to all our content, live and online events: ⁠visegradinsight.eu⁠. Use code VISEGRAD35 for 35 per cent off a yearly subscription:⁠ https://visegradinsight.eu/membership-account/membership-levels/Visegrad Insight is powered by the Res Publica Foundation, Warsaw.

Australia and the United Kingdom share one of the world's deepest strategic relationships – but in an increasingly contested geopolitical environment, that partnership is taking on new significance. In this episode of Contested Ground, Phillip Tarrant and Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson are joined by acting British high commissioner to Australia Dr Brian Jones to unpack the future of AUKUS, the UK's growing Indo-Pacific focus, and the security challenges binding the two nations more closely together. They also explore the enormous industrial opportunity behind AUKUS, the role Australian businesses and technology can play in UK and allied defence supply chains, and why economic, technological, and national security cooperation is becoming increasingly inseparable. It's a wide-ranging discussion on deterrence, defence industry, sovereign capability, and the enduring trust underpinning the Australia–UK relationship. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team

Australia and the United Kingdom share one of the world's deepest strategic relationships – but in an increasingly contested geopolitical environment, that partnership is taking on new significance. In this episode of Contested Ground, Phillip Tarrant and Major General (Ret'd) Dr Marcus Thompson are joined by acting British high commissioner to Australia Dr Brian Jones to unpack the future of AUKUS, the UK's growing Indo-Pacific focus, and the security challenges binding the two nations more closely together. They also explore the enormous industrial opportunity behind AUKUS, the role Australian businesses and technology can play in UK and allied defence supply chains, and why economic, technological, and national security cooperation is becoming increasingly inseparable. It's a wide-ranging discussion on deterrence, defence industry, sovereign capability, and the enduring trust underpinning the Australia–UK relationship. Enjoy the podcast, The Contested Ground team

In Episode 82, Marcus scours the garbage bins around government offices in Canberra to feed the SAA bunker's furnaces and so avoid rising energy prices as the Houthis block Red Sea shipments. It's a nervous time, even deep in the Brindabella bunker. The Grumpies are almost as shocked as Saudi leader Mohammed bin Salman to see Donald Trump can't or won't help the Saudis fight the Houthis to free oil coming through Red Sea, instead he's negotiating with them.But the meat of the episode isn't the deepening global energy and economic crisis flowing out of the Middle East. The massive global news this week is that AUKUS has turned 5. Ahhh, they grow up so fast!!To join the celebrations, the Grumpies conduct a rigorous "meta analysis" of the collected tomes and insights released on this incredible milestone for the trilateral initiative.Most prominent here is the collected wisdom from the UK Council on Geostrategy. We're fortunate that these are not folk to be bogged down by any troubling perspectives: like this one: if the purpose of AUKUS is to deter Beijing, then the first 5 years has provided very bad news: China's production of nuclear subs is expanding rapidly and the quality of its nuclear subs is improving fast, on timelines that should embarrass all 3 AUKUS nations.Meanwhile, AUKUS won't deliver a single extra sub into the Indo Pacific before the mid-2040s compared with the US, UK and Aust plans before AUKUS was born.....Then there's the nasty issue that instead of working to integrate the UK and Australian defence industries into America's, the Trump Administration is pursuing its unilateral America First trade policy that is treating even its closest partners as competitors and adversaries....Fortunately, the higher minds in the AUKUS grifter and booster crowds are not distracted by pesky problems around actual relative military power or real world outcomes.They caution against the rookie error of seeing AUKUS as being about submarines at all. It's greatest achievements after 5 years and billions of dollars of mainly Australian money are:1. that it's Not Yet Dead, and2. that at the "conceptual level" it has reshaped the "geopolitical imaginary" and connected the Euro-Atlantic with the Indo Pacific ("scotching the narrative of British decline" along the way, apparently).To quote one author channeling the novel Dune: "Our plans are measured in centuries".Thank God for that. Take that Mr Xi Jinping.The episode ends in a chicken coop, where new UK Chancellor Healey shows that you are where you stand. When he stood on the dung heap that was the UK's Ministry of defence (MoD) , he resigned on principle because the Starmer government wouldn't spend more on defence. Now that he's the Chancellor, responsible for where all the money goes, he's doing just what he condemned months ago - and not funding the UK military to meet its needs. The Chancellor's dung heap has a different view out over the chicken coop than the view he had from the MoD.

In today's Trade-Off the Podium, Olof Gill breaks down the EU-Philippines FTA — a historic deal deepening trade and investment ties with a key Indo-Pacific partner of 113 million people, days after von der Leyen's SOTEU call to expand EU partnerships.

Trump says he is weighing whether to "annihilate" Iran next week. Is this another empty threat? We have reached a point where it is increasingly difficult to know how much weight to put behind his threats. The bond markets are beginning to speak, inflation is rising, and U.S. military capabilities are under strain. Trump pays attention to all three. The constraints on both sides are far tighter than they were nine months ago. So why continue with maximalist rhetoric that risks eroding American credibility and deterrence?This week also saw Mark Carney and Ursula von der Leyen signal a much closer relationship between Canada and Europe, including the possibility of Canada becoming the EU's first associate member. What does that actually mean? And why pursue this partnership when the world's growth and dynamism are increasingly shifting toward Asia and the Indo-Pacific?In the second half of the show, Rudyard and Janice turn to AI and a growing chorus of warnings from the industry's own leaders, who are calling for stronger safeguards to limit the potential damage if AI systems break out and cause serious disruption to the systems that underpin our everyday life. How much weight should we put behind the argument that regulation and inspection could handicap American AI development and allow China to pull ahead?Become a Munk Donor ($50 annually) to get 72-hour advanced access to the full length editions of Friday Focus and Munk Dialogues. Go to www.munkdebates.com to sign up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Onstage at the Seoul Defense Dialogue, Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro was taking a question about Chinese coercion in the South China Sea when a forum staffer handed him a note, handwritten on hotel stationery, from China's delegation. He decided to read it out loud, dismantling it line by line, and then said he would keep it as “a memento of how desperate China is.” That clip rocketed around the world. Secretary Teodoro joins co-hosts Ray Powell and Jim Carouso to explain that the note was one move in a pattern he has watched across five regional forums: off-topic “alternative lectures” delivered instead of questions, people posing as journalists trying to make him lose his temper on camera, and delegations that avoid the panels they cannot control. His read is an active attempt “to make a more Sinocentric world,” and he points to Palau as another example of another country being told it's too small to object. On Beijing's insults, Teodoro is blunt. China's foreign affairs ministry berated him and other Filipino officials who push back for being “a handful of grandstanding buffoons”, though its official English-language translation softened the phrase to “certain individuals”. His verdict: “It's duplicity, plain and simple. That's what they are. Not as a people, mind you, but as a Party”. He traces the method to Mao's destruction of Peng Dehuai and Xi's purge of more than 200 senior figures, describing “muscle behind the cotton cladding.”Asked whether any channel exists to cool an incident at sea, Teodoro reveals he shut his department's hotline with Beijing down: the calls became attempts to co-opt his people, with “neither discipline nor structure.” Asked what a Code of Conduct would need to be worth signing, his answer runs six words. Teodoro calls Chinese fuel and fertilizer shipments a “carefully laid down trap of dependence to make it look as kindness,” designed to produce “some kind of Stockholm Syndrome.” He walks through the illegal steel-plant network his department has raided: donated obsolete furnaces, radioactive scrap, substandard structural steel, a self-admitted fake Filipino operator, and a thread running to Singapore's largest money-laundering case. He responds to the Chinese university report claiming the Batanes Islands belong to China and explains why Chinese instructors teaching Filipino children matter more than the paper did. Plus, what Ukraine taught him (“reserves, reserves, reserves”), why he cannot imagine a Taiwan conflict that spares a country 90 kilometers away with 200,000 citizens working there, why the Philippines is talking about an expeditionary navy by 2050, the gap in Philippine espionage law he wants closed, and how he handles it when others float his name as a future president. Secretary Teodoro's bottom line: peace “is not a free dividend. It is purchased, it is bought, and it is enforced.”Follow Sec. Teodoro, Jr. on FacebookFollow us on X, @IndoPacPodcast, LinkedIn or FacebookSponsored by BowerGroupAsia, a strategic advisory firm that specializes in the Indo-Pacific

The multi-billion dollar AUKUS defence deal between the US, UK and Australia is one of the most significant in our modern history.The three countries wanted to curb China's growing military presence in the Indo-Pacific. To do it, Australia was going to get new nuclear-powered submarines.But in the five years since the agreement was first announced, it's been anything but smooth sailing.In this week's episode of The Conversation Weekly, we speak with Hugh White, a security and defence analyst at the Australian National University, to explore how the secretive deal was struck and why it's proving so controversial.Read more from Hugh White and his take on the AUKUS debate here.This episode was written by Justin Bergman and Isabella Podwinski was the executive producer. Sound mixing by Dan Semo and our theme music by Neeta Sarl. Gemma Ware is our Head of Audio and Ashlynne McGhee is our Head of Editorial Innovation. Misha Ketchell and Stephen Khan are our editors in chief. You can sign up here for a free daily newsletter from The Conversation.If you like the show, please consider donating to The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news organisation.

Some of the biggest names in technology are backing calls for greater caution over the development of artificial intelligence, amid warnings increasingly powerful systems could become difficult to control. The head of Anthropic, Dario Amodei, has called for stronger safeguards, while Elon Musk and OpenAI chief Sam Altman have publicly backed elements of his proposal. And the debate has reached Australia, where political leaders, technology experts and security specialists are examining what increasingly powerful AI could mean for the country and the wider Indo-Pacific. - บริษัทยักษ์ใหญ่ในวงการเทคโนโลยีหลายแห่งออกมาสนับสนุนเสียงเรียกร้องให้เพิ่มความระมัดระวังในการพัฒนาปัญญาประดิษฐ์ หรือ AI ท่ามกลางคำเตือนว่า ระบบ AI ที่มีศักยภาพสูงขึ้นเรื่อย ๆ อาจกลายเป็นสิ่งที่ควบคุมได้ยาก ออสเตรเลียก็มีการถกเถียงประเด็นนี้โดยผู้นำทางการเมือง ผู้เชี่ยวชาญด้านเทคโนโลยี และผู้เชี่ยวชาญด้านความมั่นคง กำลังพิจารณาว่า AI ที่มีศักยภาพเพิ่มขึ้นอย่างรวดเร็วอาจส่งผลอย่างไรต่อออสเตรเลียและภูมิภาคอินโด-แปซิฟิกในวงกว้าง

How much strategic bandwidth does the United States have as it manages the Iran war, Ukraine and its wider global commitments? How are conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East changing the nature and cost of modern warfare? What does China's growing military power and activity in the Indo-Pacific mean for Australian security? In this episode, Sharryn Parker is joined by Charles Edel, Dilnoza Ubaydullaeva and Euan Graham to discuss the wars in Iran and Ukraine – and what they are revealing about the United States' capacity, weapons stockpiles, and the changing character of warfare. Dr Charles Edel is Senior Adviser and Australia Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and an expert on statecraft and great power competition.Dr Dilnoza Ubaydullaeva is a Lecturer at the ANU National Security College (NSC) and an expert on Central Asia and the positioning of the Global South in world power.Dr Euan Graham is an Expert Associate at NSC whose research spans military strategy and deterrence in the Indo-Pacific.Sharryn Parker is Senior Policy Advisor at NSC, on secondment from the Department of Defence. TRANSCRIPT Show notes:NSC academic programs – find out moreNavigating Australia's Future in an Uncertain World - Address to the National Press Club of Australia by Dr Kevin RuddJohn Howard on 9/11, geopolitics and Australia's securityCommunity Consultations reportUS National Security Strategy We'd love to hear from you! Send in your questions, comments, and suggestions to NatSecPod@anu.edu.au. You can tweet us @NSC_ANU and be sure to subscribe so you don't miss out on future episodes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some of the biggest names in technology are backing calls for greater caution over the development of artificial intelligence, amid warnings increasingly powerful systems could become difficult to control. The head of Anthropic, Dario Amodei, has called for stronger safeguards, while Elon Musk and OpenAI chief Sam Altman have publicly backed elements of his proposal. And the debate has reached Australia, where political leaders, technology experts and security specialists are examining what increasingly powerful AI could mean for the country and the wider Indo-Pacific. - برخی از بزرگ‌ترین نام‌ها در عرصه تکنالوژی، در میان هشدارهای مبنی بر این‌که سیستم‌های روزافزون قدرتمند ممکن است برای کنترول دشوار شوند، خواستار احتیاط بیشتر در توسعه هوش مصنوعی شده‌اند. داریو امودی رئیس شرکت انتروپیک، خواستار تدابیر حفاظتی قوی‌تر شده است، در حالی‌که ایلان ماسک و سام التمن رئیس OpenAI، بطور علنی از بخش‌های از پیشنهاد او حمایت کرده‌اند. این بحث به آسترالیا نیز رسیده است. رهبران سیاسی، متخصصان تکنالوژی و متخصصان امنیتی در حال بررسی این موضوع هستند که هوش مصنوعی روزافزون قدرتمند چه معنای برای کشور و حوزه پهناورتر اندو-پاسفیک می‌تواند داشته باشد.

Some of the biggest names in technology are backing calls for greater caution over the development of artificial intelligence, amid warnings increasingly powerful systems could become difficult to control. The head of Anthropic, Dario Amodei, has called for stronger safeguards, while Elon Musk and OpenAI chief Sam Altman have publicly backed elements of his proposal. And the debate has reached Australia, where political leaders, technology experts and security specialists are examining what increasingly powerful AI could mean for the country and the wider Indo-Pacific. - Некоторые из самых влиятельных представителей технологической отрасли поддерживают призывы к более осторожному развитию искусственного интеллекта на фоне предупреждений о том, что всё более мощные системы могут стать трудными для контроля. Глава компании Anthropic Дарио Амодеи призвал усилить меры безопасности, а Илон Маск и генеральный директор OpenAI Сэм Альтман публично поддержали отдельные положения его предложения. Эта дискуссия дошла и до Австралии, где политики, технологические эксперты и специалисты по безопасности анализируют, какие последствия развитие всё более мощного искусственного интеллекта может иметь для страны и всего Индо-Тихоокеанского региона.Больше историй, интервью и новостей от SBS Russian доступно здесь.Слушайте программу на русском языке SBS по понедельникам, четвергам и субботам в 12 часов дня.Читайте нас в Facebook и Instagram и подпишитесь на наши подкасты по этой ссылке.

Some of the biggest names in technology are backing calls for greater caution over the development of artificial intelligence, amid warnings increasingly powerful systems could become difficult to control. The head of Anthropic, Dario Amodei, has called for stronger safeguards, while Elon Musk and OpenAI chief Sam Altman have publicly backed elements of his proposal. And the debate has reached Australia, where political leaders, technology experts and security specialists are examining what increasingly powerful AI could mean for the country and the wider Indo-Pacific.

In this episode, Garrison is once again joined by Dr. Collin Koh, senior fellow at the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies at RSIS in Singapore. The two discuss the meteoric naval buildup of China's Navy, and its efforts to improve professionalism and integration in its naval forces. This comes amidst the backdrop of the U.S. Navy's increasingly demanding role in the Middle East and questions about America's focus on the Pacific theater of operations. They also discuss Japan's return to military hard power as a security contributor for Southeast Asia, and its deepening defense cooperation with Australia. The discussion concludes with a review of Dr. Koh's recent article in CNA explaining why Malacca is not the Hormuz when it comes to naval security, and why manned surface ships will keep navies relevant in the age of drones. Dr Collin Koh is senior fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies which is a constituent unit of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, based in Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He has research interests on maritime security and naval affairs in the Indo-Pacific, focusing on Southeast Asia. Collin has published several op-eds, policy- and academic journal articles as well as chapters for edited volumes covering his research areas. He has also taught at Singapore Armed Forces professional military education and training courses. Besides research and teaching, Collin also contributes his perspectives to various local and international media outlets, and participates in activities with geopolitical risks consultancies.Garrison Moratto is the founder and host of The New Diplomatist Podcast; he earned a M.S. of International Relations as well as a B.S. in Government: Public Administration (Summa Cum Laude) at Liberty University in the United States. He has been published in RealClearDefense, and Pacific Forum International's "Issues & Insights", among other publications.  He is the author of Distant Shores on Substack.Guest opinions are their own.All music licensed via UppBeat. Episode recorded on Aug. 19th, 2026

During World War II, America learned a hard lesson about the strategic importance of the small island nations scattered across the Pacific.Among them is Palau, a nation of 18,000 people in what's known as the second island chain. It's home to the bloodiest battlefield of the Pacific theater, on the island of Peleliu.Today, as the Chinese regime prepares for a possible invasion of Taiwan, Palau finds itself on the front lines again. It's one of only 12 countries that diplomatically recognize Taiwan, and one of only three with a Compact of Free Association with the United States—an agreement that gives the U.S. exclusive military access to Palauan waters in exchange for providing defense, postal service, economic assistance, and other benefits to Palauans.Palau's strategic position has made it a target. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has ramped up gray-zone tactics and information warfare across the region to pull small Pacific nations away from Taiwan and the United States.In this episode, I'm sitting down with Palau's President Surangel Whipps Jr. Half-American and half-Palauan and born in Baltimore, Whipps decided to give up his American citizenship to serve as president of his father's homeland and chart a new course for its development.In this episode, Whipps explains how Palau is defending its sovereignty against foreign encroachment and shares his vision for the country's future.We cover how the CCP has threatened Palau, how the Compact of Free Association shapes U.S. regional defense strategy, why the U.S. military is building radar sites on the island, and how Western private sector investment can help secure a free Indo-Pacific.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

Melissa Sanderson returns to unpack why China's grip on the world's supply of rare earths has become one of the most consequential economic stories in the Indo-Pacific, and why a deadline just weeks away could reshape supply chains for everything from smartphones to fighter jets. Mel spent 21 years in the U.S. Foreign Service before moving into mining, and now serves as co-chair of the Critical Minerals Institute and a board member of American Rare Earths.Mel opens with a promise: she'll define rare earths, and then you can promptly forget the definition. What matters is what they do. A small handful of these elements make the magnets inside laptops, cell phones, electric vehicles, wind turbines, data centers, robotics, and missile guidance systems. America's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which carries hundreds of pounds of rare earth content per aircraft, can't fly without them.Mel explains how Beijing built its dominance over four decades: large domestic deposits, a processing and manufacturing chain developed deliberately alongside them, and aggressive acquisition of mining concessions abroad through infrastructure-for-resources deals she calls neocolonial. Washington is now running the same playbook - creating friction with a European Union that accuses the U.S. of using its checkbook to crowd European buyers out of the market.But the real chokepoint isn't the rock in the ground. China mines roughly 60% of the rare earths used in magnets and controls 91% of refining and 94% of magnet manufacturing. Everything between the mine and the finished magnet is the issue.When asked whether U.S. government equity stakes in mining companies count as industrial policy, Mel says that's just market economics. Real industrial policy starts with the end user and works backward to the mine. What America is doing instead is “shotgunning resources”: building processing plants with no secured supply to run through them.Beijing's suspension of its expanded export controls expires November 10, and the measures snap back automatically unless China acts. Meanwhile, new rules bar Chinese-linked materials from the entire defense magnet supply chain starting January 1. Mel's arithmetic is brutal: the deadline is months away; the fastest U.S. mine-and-processing build is three to four years.Her bottom line? “No mine, no cell phone.” And for now, we need to play nice with China on rare earths.Be sure to subscribe for your weekly Indo-Pacific briefing.Follow Melissa Sanderson on LinkedInFollow us on X, @IndoPacPodcast, LinkedIn or FacebookFollow Ray Powell on X, @GordianKnotRay, or LinkedIn, or check out his maritime transparency work at SeaLightFollow Jim Carouso on LinkedInSponsored by BowerGroupAsia, a strategic advisory firm that specializes in the Indo-Pacific

1909 SHANGHAISTREAMING-THE-MAKING OF THE JOHN-BATCHELOR-SHOW-9-92Tonight's discussions on The John Batchelor Show survey geopolitical stability and international security. The participants first analyze a deteriorating trade relationship between the United States and Canada, expressing concern that aggressive American tariff policies are pushing Canada toward deeper economic alignment with China. Shifting focus to the space race, the discussion examines a potential military conflict in cislunar space as China signals its intent to contest the region between Earth and the moon. Finally, the dialogue addresses naval readiness, debating the implications of visible rust and over-deployment of U.S. aircraft carriers amidst rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific. Collectively, these segments illustrate a period of perceived strategic volatility where traditional alliances and military dominance are being challenged by emerging global shifts.

In the latest episode of Rising Tide the Ocean Podcast David Helvarg and Vicki Nichols Goldsteinr talk with Jordan Flagel about Giant Clams. Jordan is the lead environmental scientist with IMARCS – the International Marine Science and Carbon Sequestration Foundation. Along with his work with coral reefs and mangrove forests Jordon studies these unique Indo-Pacific mollusks – and yes, they really are giants – growing up to five feet and weighing over 500 pounds. For those of us who've seen them in the wild reefs of the Pacific they have amazingly soft bright mantles in electric blues, greens, orange, turquoise, brown, white and black. Along with discussing restoration of these endangered wonders of the ocean Jordan also talks about his work studying how the algae in their mantles might help restore coral reefs after bleaching events. So, lots to cover and let's snap to it on this latest episode. Additional Resources IMARCS Foundation — Pioneering novel research in reef restoration and coastal conservationthrough innovative marine science practices.Blue Frontier / Substack — Building the solution-based citizen movement needed to protect our ocean, coasts and communities, both human and wild.Inland Ocean Coalition — Building land-to-sea stewardship - the inland voice for ocean protectionFluid Studios — Thinking radically different about the collective good, our planet, & the future.

A food crisis can become a security crisis.In the second part of my conversation with climate analyst David Spratt, we look at what happens when climate disruption, extreme heat, food insecurity and geopolitical tensions begin to interact.The Indo-Pacific is particularly vulnerable. Australia and its neighbours face increasing heat and dryness while the region is already shaped by political and security tensions. David explores how a food and heat crisis could potentially destabilise the wider region — and why governments need to prepare for these risks before they become emergencies.We discuss the need for stronger climate-security intelligence, food stockpiles, resilience, adaptation and disaster preparedness. David also examines the relationship between climate disruption, displacement and political instability, drawing on examples including Syria and the Arab Spring.The conversation also turns to Australia's contradictory climate policy, the vulnerability of Indonesia and the question of whether governments are responding adequately as extreme climate events repeatedly exceed expectations.David's central message is that climate impacts cannot be treated simply as isolated environmental events. They can interact with existing vulnerabilities, creating cascading consequences across food systems, societies and national security.In this episode:• How a food and heat crisis could become a security crisis• Why the Indo-Pacific is particularly vulnerable• Australia, China and a contested Pacific• The need for climate-security intelligence• Why governments need to prepare before crises arrive• Food insecurity, migration and political instability• Lessons from Syria and the Arab Spring• Indonesia's vulnerability to climate disruption• Australia's contradictory climate and energy policy• Why extreme climate events are repeatedly exceeding expectations• Resilience, adaptation and disaster preparedness• An El Niño with no historical analogueDavid Spratt is a climate analyst and researcher with the Australian Security Leaders Climate Group.This conversation explores a plausible risk scenario, not a prediction.Part 1: War, Fertiliser & El Niño: A Recipe for Food Crisis?

Sebastian Bae on Littoral CommanderThis episode of Experience Points features Sebastian Bae, a senior game designer at the Center for Naval Analyses and designer of Littoral Commander: Indo-Pacific, an educational wargame exploring future tactical conflict in the Indo-Pacific. Sebastian shares his meandering path from the Marine Corps infantry to professional wargame design, and how his enlisted background shaped his drive to push games down to the lowest tactical level. He explains the core tension of educational game design: keeping a game accurate and realistic enough that players trust the model, while still making it approachable, teachable, and usable. Sebastian describes how a scalable card-driven system and terrain research conducted in ArcGIS made a complex subject playable, why the game deliberately avoids prescribing “right answers,” and how commands and classrooms have adapted the game for their own needs. He closes with two lessons for educators using games to teach serious topics: have a clear, defined vision of what you are teaching and to whom and build the back-end infrastructure - especially the discussion after the game - where learning synthesizes and crystallizes for players.If you liked this episode please consider commenting, sharing, and subscribing.Subscribing is absolutely free and ensures that you'll get the next episode of Experience Points delivered directly to you.I'd also love it if you took some time to rate the show!I live to lift others with learning.  So, if you found this episode useful, consider sharing it with someone who could benefit.Also make sure to visit University XP online at www.universityxp.comUniversity XP is also on Twitter @University_XP and on Facebook and LinkedIn as University XPAlso, feel free to email me anytime at dave@universityxp.comGame on!Get the full transcript and references for this episode here: https://www.universityxp.com/podcast/172Support the show

As Pacific Islands Forum leaders gathered in Palau, one of the last nations recognizing Taiwan, five members skipped sending their top leaders. Meanwhile, a June survey found New Zealanders now rate the United States a greater threat than China, to which our guest said warmth toward Washington had “fallen off a cliff.”Hosts Ray Powell and Jim Carouso are joined by David Capie, Director of the Centre for Strategic Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, who explains why views of both great powers have shifted. Warmth toward China had eroded for years because of its actions toward the South China Sea, Hong Kong, and the Uyghurs, as well as its expanding Pacific presence since the 2022 Solomon Islands agreement. Then a PLA Navy task group circumnavigated Australia and conducted live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea, diverting commercial flights. Strategy documents are read by “foreign policy nerds,” Capie notes, but when flights carrying “grandma home to the Gold Coast” get rerouted, the public notices. What flipped the ranking was 18 months of U.S. policy, such as tariff whiplash, Greenland and Canada rhetoric, and USAID's closure leaving perceptions of America “in the freezer” while Beijing now pitches itself as the responsible, predictable partner.He maps New Zealand's foreign policy reset ahead of November's election: leaning into Australia and Five Eyes partners, deeper security cooperation with Japan, new partnerships across Southeast Asia and a recalibrated India relationship. On the Cook Islands, Capie traces how Wellington's relations with Rarotonga had soured over a China partnership agreed without adequate consultation, the aid pause that followed, and the new Declaration on Defence and Security, but then unpacks the surprise U.S.–New Zealand port project at Penrhyn and its link to seabed minerals.On the missing PIF leaders, his verdict is “a little from column A and a little from column B”. Chinese pressure is real, but so are local dynamics like the Solomon Islands no-confidence vote that pulled Prime Minister Wale back home. He warns against “always seeing strategic machinations where often there are local dynamics at play.”Australia's Ocean of Peace Alliance with Fiji prompts hard questions about militarization and whether Canberra and Wellington praise PIF centrality while building a parallel architecture. That tension showed after China's July 2026 submarine-launched ballistic missile test into the Pacific, its first ever into international open waters. Leaders spoke frankly, but no collective PIF statement emerged. Keeping China out of the Pacific Islands, Capie says, would be “a fool's errand” – the real concern is its expanding security footprint. His challenge to Wellington, Canberra, and Washington: lift your game and treat transnational crime and climate change as priorities in their own right.Plus: pavlova, flat whites, and why David won't perform a haka.Follow David Capie on X, @davidcapieFollow us on X, @IndoPacPodcast, LinkedIn or FacebookSponsored by BowerGroupAsia, a strategic advisory firm that specializes in the Indo-Pacific

What happens when war, fertiliser shortages, extreme heat and El Niño collide?In this episode of ClimateGen, Nick Breeze speaks with climate analyst David Spratt about a potentially dangerous food-security crisis unfolding across the Indo-Pacific.David is the co-author of Recipe for Food Insecurity: War, Fertiliser and the El Niño, which examines what could happen when several systemic shocks occur at the same time: reduced fertiliser availability, lower crop plantings, extreme heat, drought and a powerful El Niño affecting some of the world's most important agricultural regions.Rice is at the centre of the concern. Much of Asia depends heavily on rice, while the international rice market is relatively small. A significant production shock could therefore have rapid consequences for prices and food availability.David draws a comparison with the wheat crisis of 2009–10, when simultaneous crop failures contributed to a dramatic rise in wheat prices in the Middle East and helped create conditions that fed into the Arab Spring.He is careful to stress that this is not a prediction, but a plausible scenario that governments should be preparing for.The conversation explores how food insecurity can interact with extreme heat, existing conflicts and political instability — and how a food and climate crisis could ultimately become a security crisis.We discuss:• Why El Niño could create exceptionally hot and dry conditions across Asia and Australia• The fertiliser crisis and why its effects could persist for years• Why rice is particularly vulnerable• The relationship between food prices, insecurity and social unrest• Lessons from the 2009–10 wheat crisis and the Arab Spring• How climate disruption can contribute to regional instability• Why governments need better climate-security intelligence and preparedness• The importance of resilience, adaptation and planning before crises arriveDavid Spratt is a climate analyst and researcher with the Australian Security Leaders Climate Group.This episode explores a plausible risk scenario — not a forecast.

– World News Briefing– Persecution in China– Rallies in Canberra Call for Action to End CCP's Repression – UK Minister for Indo-Pacific and Parliamentarians Condemn Persecution of Falun Gong – Falun Dafa Events in New York and San Francisco Draw Community Support To provide feedback on this podcast, please email us at feedback@minghuiradio.org

Without a NATO-style alliance to lean on, electromagnetic warfare readiness in the Indo-Pacific depends on regional cooperation that the industry is still building from scratch.For today's conversation, Ken Miller closes out coverage from AOC Asia 2026 in Adelaide, Australia, with three separate conversations: Jang Pyo Kim, AOC Regional Director for Asia Pacific and Chief Principal Researcher at the Agency for Defense Development, on why the region needs its own recurring forum, Hope Snedden, an embedded software engineer at DesignWorks, on what electromagnetic warfare can borrow from game development, and David Dehay, Chief Technology Officer at Black Art Technologies, on RF and antenna design in a congested threat environment. Together, they discuss coalition interoperability and software-defined platforms, plus the industrial base needed to keep pace with a faster, more contested spectrum.We invite you to share your thoughts, questions, or suggestions for future episodes by emailing host Ken Miller at host@fromthecrowsnest.org or by visiting us on our Instagram @fromthecrowsnestpodcast.To learn more about today's topics or to stay updated on EMSO and EW developments, visit our homepage.

Is China already a great power—or still becoming one? And if it is, what does that mean for the United States, the Navy, and the balance of power at sea? Dr. Bernard “Bud” Cole is a 30-year U.S. Navy veteran, former warship commander, and one of America's leading experts on China's military and maritime strategy. Bud Cole has spent a lifetime in the Pacific—at sea, in uniform, and in the classroom—studying the very questions now dominating headlines: Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.) – Surface Warfare Officer with 30 years of service Commanded USS Rathburne (FF-1057) and a destroyer squadron Served in Vietnam as a naval gunfire liaison officer with Marines Former Professor of International History, National War College Author of landmark works on China and naval power, including The Great Wall at Sea He has watched China's rise not from afar, but up close—over decades—as its navy evolved into a global force challenging U.S. influence across the Indo-Pacific. What “great power” actually means—and whether China meets the test The rapid expansion of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Why the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait matter so much How maritime power shapes global trade, energy, and security Where U.S.–China competition is heading—and what could go wrong Lessons from history about rising powers and established ones This is not a cable news argument or a policy lecture. It's a conversation with someone who has served, commanded, studied, and taught the realities of naval power and great-power competition. About VBC LIVE: The Veterans Breakfast Club brings veterans, families, and the public together in communities of listening—where stories, experience, and history help us better understand today's world. #China #USNavy #IndoPacific #Taiwan #SouthChinaSea #Geopolitics #MilitaryHistory #NavalStrategy #Veterans #GreatPower #VBC

This Week In Startups is made possible by: DigitalOcean https://do.co/twist Every.io https://every.io PayPal https://paypal.launch.co Today's show: *Nvidia agreed to buy Hugging Face for $12.9 billion, just days after quietly licensing Poolside's coding model for $6 billion+. On TWiST, Jason lays out why this is actually the biggest AI story of the year. Nvidia plans to offer enterprises unmetered, unlimited on-prem compute, pulling them away from reliance on Anthropic and OpenAI's frontier models and products. PLUS we're chatting with Halter founder & CEO Craig Piggott about how his company helps farmers optimize their land use via solar-powered AI-driven cattle collars. AND Hop Aero CEO and co-founder Matija Milenovic shows us Rook, his autonomous hypersonic cargo rocket that can launch from a shipping container and deliver cargo up to 450 miles away in about 15 minutes. Finally, Jason and Lon explain why you never post Slop on the timeline. Guests: Craig Piggott on X: https://x.com/craig_piggott Halter: https://www.halterhq.com/ Matija Milenovic on X: https://x.com/mat_milenovic Hop Aero: https://hopaero.com/ Relevant Links: OpenAI Open Letter: https://openai.com/collective-cyberdefense/ OpenAI Hugging Face report: https://openai.com/index/hugging-face-incident-and-the-road-ahead/ OpenAI Jalapeño report: https://openai.com/index/jalapeno-first-results/ Dario Amodei-Gavin Baker tweet thread: https://x.com/DarioAmodei/status/2088758816376807762 TechCrunch: Nvidia-Hugging Face deal: https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/26/nvidia-closes-in-on-hugging-face-acquisition/ TechCrunch coverage of Halter: https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/04/unpacking-peter-thiels-big-bet-on-solar-powered-cow-collars/ Dealroom: Sir Peter Back on Rocket Lab: https://app.dealroom.co/news/note/sir-peter-beck-on-rocket-lab-s-no-money-so-we-have-to-think-playbook-from-a-60k-new-zealand-start-up-to-an-end-to-end-space-company WSJ: Druckenmiller op-ed: "Let the Bond Market Speak": https://www.wsj.com/opinion/let-the-bond-market-speak-81529d74 NOTUS: Druckenmiller's WSJ op-ed was written with AI: https://www.notus.org/media/stanley-druckenmillers-wsj-op-ed-bessent-ai WaPo: Wall Street Journal defends Druckenmiller op-ed: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/08/25/wall-street-journal-says-ai-generated-op-ed-didnt-breach-its-standards/ Photon Matrix Laser Mosquito Killer: https://photonmatrixlab.com/ "The Wizard of the Kremlin" trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7ctYp3zQVA "King & Conqueror" trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anS9xQEPTsU "Lanterns" trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UIBOsuUwc4 "Rebel Ridge" trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF3gZicntIw Alpaka Bravo Sling Max 2 bag: https://alpakagear.com/products/bravo-sling-max-v2 No Agenda podcast: https://www.noagendashow.net/ THR: John C. Dvorak obit: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/john-dvorak-dead-tech-journalist-no-agenda-inside-track-1236657317/ Timestamps: 0:00 The 100+ company open letter on cyberdefense 9:48 DigitalOcean - Want to see what building on a true AI-native platform looks like? Head to https://do.co/twist to start building on DigitalOcean's AI-Native Cloud today — and cut your AI workload costs by up to 50%. 16:46 Why some models are "unsafe at any latency" 19:44 Craig Piggott of Halter joins the show 21:03 Every.io - For all of your incorporation, banking, payroll, benefits, accounting, taxes or other back-office administration needs, visit https://every.io 26:09 How do you add cows to Starlink? 31:26 PayPal - Pay zero processing fees on your first $100K in eligible PayPal payment volume. Learn more at https://paypal.launch.co 47:52 Founder-led hyper-local sales motion 53:15 Remember John C. Dvorak 58:27 Matija Milenovic of Hop Aero joins 59:53 Sending out autonomous swarms in the Indo-Pacific 1:11:26 Nvidia's mega-Hugging Face deal 1:16:32 Nvidia's "unmetered" play against Anthropic and OpenAI 1:29:47 How letting AI write for you is like lip syncing 1:33:44 Laser-guided mosquito defense system 1:36:32 Lon's streaming picks   Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.com Check out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.com Subscribe to This Week in Startups on Apple: https://rb.gy/v19fcp   Follow Lon: X: https://x.com/lons   Follow Jason: X: https://twitter.com/Jason LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis   Check out all our partner offers: https://partners.launch.co/   Great TWIST interviews: Will Guidara, Eoghan McCabe, Steve Huffman, Brian Chesky, Bob Moesta, Aaron Levie, Sophia Amoruso, Reid Hoffman, Frank Slootman, Billy McFarland   Check out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanis   Follow TWiST: Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartups YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekin Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartups TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartups Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com

The United States is burning through some of its most advanced munitions in its war with Iran this year. By some accounts, inventories of high-end Patriot and THAAD interceptors may be depleted by as much as 80 percent. Replacing them could take years, even as military planners worry about needs in Europe and the Indo-Pacific. Tom Karako, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Missile Defense Project, has tracked just how deep the shortfall runs and what it would take to fix it. He joins FP Live to assess the state of U.S. stockpiles and what it means about the future of American preparedness. John Haltiwanger and Rishi Iyengar: The Iran War Has Left the U.S. Dangerously Exposed Sam Skove: U.S. War in Iran Leaves Ukraine's Air Defense in Limbo Robert Almelor Delfeld: The U.S. Munitions Deficit Is a Political Problem Franz-Stefan Gady: Europe's Dangerous Hesitation on Its Own Air Defense Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Could Scarborough Shoal become China's next artificial-island outpost? Can transparency effectively counter gray-zone coercion at sea? Why did scholars from seven Chinese universities suddenly claim that Batanes, the Philippines' northernmost and very much inhabited island province, belongs to China? And why has the Chinese embassy in Manila spent so much time attacking a Philippine Coast Guard officer, and one of our own podcast co-hosts, online?In this special crossover episode, the usual roles are reversed. Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard, a two-time Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific? guest and a leading champion of Manila's maritime transparency campaign, takes the host chair on his podcast, Just the Truth. Recorded in Manila, he puts Why Should We Care co-host Ray Powell in the guest seat.Jay and Ray examine what happens when China's pressure at sea is paired with political warfare on land. They discuss the risk that Scarborough Shoal could become Beijing's next fortified outpost, the sudden claims over Batanes as Chinese coast guard vessels push east of the First Island Chain, and whether publicly documenting water cannons, ramming, swarming, and other coercive acts changes China's behavior, or at least builds the national resilience and international backing needed for a long-term resistance.They also explore why the Philippines has embraced transparency while many Southeast Asian neighbors still prefer quiet diplomacy, how independent journalists aboard Philippine Coast Guard ships have helped make maritime encounters impossible to ignore, and why the political contest over facts, images, and public opinion may be inseparable from the contest taking place on the water.Jay then lightens the mood with some of his favorite “mean tweets” about Ray: that he is an American propagandist, or secretly Jay's CIA boss, or directing a half-billion-dollar U.S. government information operation against China… a windfall Ray's wife would very much like to locate.It is a candid, sometimes irreverent conversation about territorial claims, information warfare, Philippine agency, and why Beijing appears so determined to discredit the people pointing cameras at its actions.Be sure to subscribe for your weekly Indo-Pacific briefing.Follow Rear Admiral Jay Tarriela at the West Philippine Sea Transparence Office on Facebook, on LinkedIn or on X, @jaytaryelaFollow “Just the Truth” on the Philippine Information Agency's YouTube channelFollow us on X, @IndoPacPodcast, LinkedIn or FacebookSponsored by BowerGroupAsia, a strategic advisory firm that specializes in the Indo-Pacific

Why has China Coast Guard made it a routine to patrol the east of Taiwan? Why has retired US Air Force colonel Ray Powell called this a quarantine? CommonWealth's cover story details the reporting behind "Broken Chain," built on 1.8 billion vessel data points. Our reporters recount our exclusive interview with National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu. This episode traces a shared playbook across the first island chain, and why normalization may be the greatest danger. Episode highlights: 00:00 The quarantine warning behind Broken Chain 03:26 Su'ao fishermen grown numb to Chinese patrols 10:09 Mapping 1.8 billion vessel data points 14:38 Coast Guard SOPs and a Philippine warning 17:33 Exclusive interview with NSC SecGen 21:34 Indo-Pacific stakes, CSIS partnership, what's next Host: Kwangyin Liu, Deputy Managing Editor, CommonWealth Magazine Guest: Steven Yeo, Data & Graphics engineer; Hazel Hsu, Reporter Producers: Yayuan Chang, Weiru Wang ＊Read more：https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=4930 ＊Share your thoughts：bill@cw.com.tw -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

Why has China Coast Guard made it a routine to patrol the east of Taiwan? Why has retired US Air Force colonel Ray Powell called this a quarantine? CommonWealth's cover story details the reporting behind "Broken Chain," built on 1.8 billion vessel data points. Our reporters recount our exclusive interview with National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu. This episode traces a shared playbook across the first island chain, and why normalization may be the greatest danger.Episode highlights:00:00 The quarantine warning behind Broken Chain03:26 Su'ao fishermen grown numb to Chinese patrols10:09 Mapping 1.8 billion vessel data points14:38 Coast Guard SOPs and a Philippine warning17:33 Exclusive interview with NSC SecGen21:34 Indo-Pacific stakes, CSIS partnership, what's nextHost: Kwangyin Liu, Deputy Managing Editor, CommonWealth MagazineGuest: Steven Yeo, Data & Graphics engineer; Hazel Hsu, ReporterProducers: Yayuan Chang, Weiru Wang＊Read more：https://english.cw.com.tw/article/article.action?id=4930＊Share your thoughts：bill@cw.com.tw留言告訴我你對這一集的想法： https://open.firstory.me/user/cledx9shs004801v3cmkogc7e/comments Powered by Firstory Hosting

Guest BioPeter Bergman is an Australian expedition leader and the founder of Beyond Expedition Consulting. With nearly a decade of experience guiding expeditions across diverse and remote regions including Antarctica, the Arctic, and the Indo-Pacific, Peter has developed a broad expertise in expedition cruising. His career began with Silversea Expeditions, where he advanced from Staff Assistant to Expedition Leader, managing complex operations and ensuring guest safety on challenging itineraries. Through Beyond Expedition Consulting, Peter provides specialized advice to expedition operators, drawing on current, hands-on experience in the field to support companies in delivering safe and authentic adventure travel experiences.Show SummaryIn this episode of the Big World Made Small Adventure Travel Podcast, host Jason Elkins speaks with Peter Bergman about his journey from studying marine science to becoming an expedition leader and founder of Beyond Expedition Consulting. Peter shares insights into the expedition industry, explaining what expedition tourism entails and how it differs from traditional travel. He highlights the challenges of operating in remote regions, from polar areas to tropical islands, and the importance of thorough planning and local knowledge.Peter discusses the balance he seeks between his career at sea and life on land, as well as the personal challenges of leading expeditions in high-stress environments. He reflects on the legacy of his late father and how it shaped his adventurous path. The conversation delves into the evolving nature of expedition travel, the role of consulting in supporting new and established operators, and the need for mental and physical wellbeing among expedition staff. Big World Made Small guest features are invitation-only and selected based on story, experience, and fit with the show. Guest support helps make the episode possible, but it does not determine who is featured. This helps keep the show free of third-party ads and interruptions while keeping the focus on real, story-driven conversations.Learn more about the Big World Made Small Adventure Travel Podcast and join our private community to get episode updates & special access to our guests.Are you a tourism expert with a story to share? Let's connect.

For me, it is funny but serious that the phrase I started saying in 2019 that we were going to keep building Arleigh Burke DDGs “until the crack of doom” has turned into prophecy. With the anticipated death of DDG(X) and FFG-62, the Burkes are about the only game in town. That fact naturally flows into a point we have raised here and on the Midrats Podcast for the last couple of decades: How are we going to conduct repair and maintenance under combat conditions should we find ourselves in a fight west of the International Date Line?Well, we've got the perfect intersection of both issues for the next episode of Midrats.This RAND Report from May caught my eye:The Arleigh Burke–class guided missile destroyer, commonly known as a DDG-51, is the primary surface combatant vessel of the U.S. Navy. These ships—designed to operate in contested environments—are likely to sustain widespread battle damage from diverse attacks should a conflict develop in the Indo-Pacific region. The prevalent nature of this damage would give rise to the greatest demand for ship repair that the Navy has experienced since World War II.To evaluate requirements for and potential issues with a significant demand for salvaging and repairing battle-damaged destroyers, the authors conducted a tabletop exercise on August 13–14, 2025, with participants from the United States and allied nations in the Indo-Pacific. The participants were split into four groups, and each group represented U.S. and allied stakeholders who would be involved in the repairs.The report is titled, Battle Damage Repair for Arleigh Burke–Class Destroyers: Tabletop Exercise Results.Our guest is one of the authors of the report, Bradley Martin.Bradley Martin is a senior policy researcher at RAND. He retired from the Navy as a surface warfare Captain after 30 years of service, including four command tours.In addition to his operational tours, Martin served on the staff of U.S. Forces Japan, on the OPNAV staff as an operations analyst, and, most recently, as the Navy coordinator for participation in Joint Staff and OSD requirements and resources forums. His subspecialties included operations research, operational logistics, and strategic planning. His work at RAND focuses on Navy force structure and capabilities, supply chain security and resilience, and national security strategy. Prior to joining the Navy, he achieved a doctorate in political science from the University of Michigan, while working as a research assistant for the Correlates of War Project.Show LinksBattle Damage Repair for Arleigh Burke–Class DestroyersRepair CFT Brief for JTEG Forum on “Expeditionary Repair” CDR Erich C. Schwarz, USN, July 2022SummaryIn this episode, we explore the insights from a recent tabletop exercise on naval repair capabilities and strategic challenges in the Indo-Pacific, featuring Captain Brad Martin. We discuss the importance of organic repair assets, the vulnerabilities of fixed bases, and the need for adaptable logistics in wartime scenarios.Chapters00:00: Introduction to the tabletop exercise and its significance04:02: What makes a successful tabletop exercise and team composition09:01: Key findings: surprises and vulnerabilities in naval repair15:03: The importance of organic repair capabilities and their current gaps21:03: Lessons from history: Cold War to modern challenges27:11: The impact of logistics, parts, and industrial base on wartime readiness34:01: Geopolitical considerations and the role of partner nations40:09: The need for mobile, flexible repair assets in contested environments50:05: Concluding thoughts: preparing for a prolonged conflict

Saturday Mornings Show host Glenn van Zutphen talks with Mike Cherney, Southeast Asia Correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, to unpack a major development in U.S. and China tensions: the deployment of U.S. Coast Guard, fast‑response cutters to Singapore and the Philippines. The six, 154‑foot vessels are part of a new “expeditionary cutter squadron” that were formerly deployed in the Middle East. Now, they’re operating across the Pacific to challenge China’s growing maritime power and deter moves on Taiwan or contested South China Sea features claimed by the Philippines and Vietnam. Mike explains why the Coast Guard, not just the U.S Navy, is becoming central to Washington’s Indo‑Pacific strategy as it offers a lower‑escalation, high‑presence alternative that signals resolve without triggering conflict. We explore what it means for ASEAN security, and how China is likely to respond.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If China controls maritime East Asia, what would that mean for Taiwan, the Philippines, Japan, global trade, and U.S. security?In Episode 163, Ray Powell and Jim Carouso speak with retired U.S. Navy Captain Brent Sadler, a career submariner, former U.S. defense attaché in Malaysia, Heritage Foundation Senior Fellow and author of two books: U.S. Naval Power in the 21st Century and Naval Power in Action: Seizing the Initiative in the New Cold War with China.Sadler's answer is blunt: China is exercising growing control over maritime East Asia, as Beijing has spent decades building the military, commercial, and political leverage to do exactly that. He says this is not just a question of aircraft carriers, missiles, and hull counts, but also about China's strategic commercial footprint in ports, shipping and repair infrastructure, distant-water fishing fleets, maritime militia, and the China Coast Guard.Ray and Jim ask what it means that China's coast guard vessels are operating east of Taiwan. Are these deployments preparation for a possible blockade? Why are fishing fleets moving in organized formations? And how could Beijing use gray-zone coercion to change the status quo before anyone agrees that a crisis has begun?The conversation also examines the recent China-Russia naval exercises and potential for submarine technology transfer, Russian pressure on Japan around the Kuril Islands, and Beijing's efforts to turn even limited naval interactions with countries such as Indonesia into political and propaganda victories. Sadler explains why Southeast Asian leaders' rhetoric must be weighed against what matters on the water: maritime rights, military exercises, commercial ties, and freedom of navigation.Finally, Sadler assesses the military balance approaching the much-discussed 2027 window of war concerns, China's Taiwan contingency preparations, gaps in America's carrier presence in the Indo-Pacific, U.S. shipbuilding deficits, the future of unmanned vessels, and what Ukraine's drone war may mean for Taiwan and regional partners.Sadler's larger warning is that maritime control is no longer just a contest of fleets, but a contest of coercion, commerce, access, and political will; one in which Beijing can test regional governments, reshape behavior below the threshold of war, and learn whether America and its allies will respond before temporary pressure becomes a permanent advantage.Follow Brent Sadler at the Heritage Foundation, on LinkedIn or on X, @brentdsadlerFollow us on X, @IndoPacPodcast, LinkedIn or FacebookFollow Ray on X, @GordianKnotRay, or LinkedInFollow Jim on LinkedInSponsored by BowerGroupAsia

Michael is joined by Richard Fontaine, CEO of the Center for a New American Security and former National Security Council official, for a strategic tour of the world's most urgent flashpoints. Richard explores the dangerous ripple effects of the Iran conflict across the Middle East, including regional powers hedging toward mutual defense pacts and the strategic costs of an open-ended naval commitment. He also evaluates recent friction in the U.S.–South Korea alliance, the pitfalls of personality-driven diplomacy with North Korea, and how military redeployments to the Middle East have left the U.S. with zero aircraft carriers currently in the Western Pacific. Finally, he and Michael examine the protracted battlefield dynamics in Ukraine, the ambiguity surrounding Washington's endgame with Moscow, and the deepening operational ties within the "Axis of Upheaval"—China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran—urging a coordinated strategy to defend frontline states without falling into regional distractions.

What does a more uncertain transatlantic relationship mean for Europe's role in the Indo-Pacific? Mike sits down with Dr Gorana Grgić, Head of the Global Security Team at ETH Zürich's Center for Security Studies and Non-Resident Fellow at the United States Studies Centre, to explore how Europe is adapting to a shifting strategic landscape. They discuss the outcomes of the latest NATO summit in Ankara; the future of NATO's Indo-Pacific partnerships with Japan, Australia, South Korea and New Zealand; and why these transregional relationships remain critical to confronting shared security challenges across Eurasia. 

Spectrum control now sits at the center of Indo-Pacific defense planning, and AI is changing both how allies coordinate and how China pursues electromagnetic advantage. For today's conversation, Ken Miller sits down with Dr. Nathan Johnson, president of the AOC Australia-New Zealand chapter, and Dr. Chen Yi Tu (Crystal), a research fellow at Taiwan's Institute for National Defense and Security Research, to break down what AOC Asia 2026 revealed about the region's security outlook. Together, they discuss why AOC Asia was paired with Australia's ADSTAR event, how coalition warfare demands shared frameworks across the Indo-Pacific, and how China is advancing EMSO through military-civil fusion, AI-assisted monitoring, and influence in international regulatory bodies.We invite you to share your thoughts, questions, or suggestions for future episodes by emailing host Ken Miller at host@fromthecrowsnest.org or by visiting us on our Instagram @fromthecrowsnestpodcast.To learn more about today's topics or to stay updated on EMSO and EW developments, visit our homepage.

Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command praised the crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln after he visited the cruiser on Saturday, describing his time aboard as “awe-inspiring” amid reports of morale concerns. Trump threatens to bomb Oman. NY Magazine fires their Mamdani-loving Writer Ross Barkan for 67 instances of ripping off other authors. Cenk Uyghur says he would rather have my daughter come in 2nd, 3rd or 8th than traumatize those trans kids. Stephen Yates from Heritage joins us to calm concerns over the U.S. temporarily pulling its last aircraft carrier from the Indo-Pacific, Trump's frustration with Oman & reduced joint military exercises with South Korea's reluctance to assist with Iran.Thank you for supporting our sponsors that make The Dana Show possible…Trees.comhttps://Trees.comGet an additional 20% off Better Plants and Better Growing at Trees.com Alliance Defending Freedomhttps://JoinADF.com/DanaAlliance Defending Freedom is on the front lines defending the freedoms and values that matter. Join the fight today. Byrnahttps://Byrna.com/DanaTrusted by law enforcement, security professionals, and everyday Americans—defend yourself and your family with Byrna.HumanNhttps://Humann.com/DanaGet the limited edition Watermelon Flavor and find out how to get a FREE 30-day supply before they sell out.Patriot Mobilehttp://PatriotMobile.com/DANAVisit online or call 972-PATRIOT and use promo code DANA for a FREE month of service.Relief Factorhttps://www.ReliefFactor.comYou could be the next person sharing a Relief Factor success story. Get started today with the 3-Week QuickStart for only $17.76.Webroothttps://Webroot.com/DanaSave 60% off Webroot. Protect your devices. Protect your family. Protect your peace of mind. Live a better digital life with Webroot. Noble Goldhttps://NobleGoldInvestments.com/DanaIf you want to see how physical gold and silver could fit into your portfolio, download Noble Gold Investments FREE Wealth Protection KitSubscribe today and stay in the loop on all things news with The Dana Show. Follow us here for more daily clips, updates, and commentary:YoutubeFacebookInstagramXMore InfoWebsite

What a great weekend for a good old fashioned Midrats Podcast Maritime Melee!Petty domestic political posturing has decided to broach a whole series of our favorite subjects for the last 17 years: carrier shortages, neglect of our auxiliaries in our Combat Logistics Force, leadership at sea, ships adrift…enough for a whole series of shows, but Mark and I promise to keep today's show to an hour.Show LinksSnopes on USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) issuesWSJ article on Admiral Cooper's visit to ABECasey William's dad being a good dadUSS Benfold (DDG 65) loses powerChapters00:00: Introduction and overview of naval challenges02:07: The need for more ships and the Ship Act04:14: Historical context of fleet size and shipbuilding07:06: Deployment length, mental health, and port visits11:59: The aging fleet and the importance of new ships16:08: Logistics challenges in the Indo-Pacific region20:04: Power outages and maintenance on USS Benfold24:55: The political landscape and funding issues29:51: Mental health support and sailor resilience35:03: Geopolitical considerations and port call limitations39:55: Technological innovations and future ship designs45:01: The importance of bipartisan support for naval modernization49:45: Conclusion and call to action for naval investment

On July 6, a Chinese submarine fired a nuclear-capable ballistic missile out of the South China Sea. It likely overflew parts of the Philippines before coming down in waters between Tuvalu, Nauru and Solomon Islands, inside the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone. The 14 Pacific Island countries in whose region it landed were almost entirely skipped in Beijing's notifications. A month later, when Pacific Islands Forum foreign ministers met in Fiji, two of its members held up the response text.Kathryn Paik of the Center for Strategic and International Studies joins Ray Powell and Jim Carouso to explain what Beijing was signaling, and why the Pacific Island Countries couldn't answer with one voice. Paik wrote the first-ever U.S. Pacific Partnership Strategy at the National Security Council, following 23 years in the Marine Corps as a helicopter pilot and as a military attaché in Indonesia.In this episode:Why the missile's route mattered more than its range: launched from the South China Sea, overflying a U.S. treaty ally and landing in a declared nuclear-free zone hours after Australia signed its fourth-ever mutual defense treaty with Fiji. Paik's read: the message was that China "can militarily touch you anywhere it wants."How Nauru and Kiribati, two countries that recently switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing, frustrated an 18-member consensus bloc. Jim presses the obvious counter — the U.S. and France tested here for decades — and Paik explains what makes this launch different.How sports became a national security instrument in a deal to put Papua New Guinea in Australia's National Rugby League, and the commitment on security ties with Beijing that came attached.Australia's diplomatic surge: mutual defense treaties with PNG and Fiji, plus bespoke security pacts with Tuvalu, Nauru and Vanuatu.Why Kiribati patrols an ocean territory larger than India with a population of roughly 140,000, and what that means for fisheries, the seabed and undersea cables.Paik on why U.S. Pacific policy has always been somebody's side job: "In Australia they have 300 people in their Office of the Pacific. We have about a dozen." The 2025 damage to U.S. standing, including USAID's closure, tariffs and no resident ambassadors across the 14 Pacific Island countries. Subscribe for your weekly Indo-Pacific briefing.Follow Kathryn Paik on LinkedIn or X, @KathrynPaikFollow us on X, @IndoPacPodcast, LinkedIn or FacebookFollow Ray Powell on X, @GordianKnotRay, or LinkedIn, or check out his maritime transparency work at SeaLightFollow Jim Carouso on LinkedInSponsored by BowerGroupAsia, a strategic advisory firm that specializes in the Indo-Pacific

#cuttheclutter The focus has shifted from West Asia to Indo-Pacific because of two key reasons. Firstly, US Defence Policy Chief Elbridge Colby who is visiting Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Cambodia, has made some significant comments on Indo-Pacific. Secondly, Russian President Putin, for the first time visited the remote southern Kuril Islands in country's far east. Putin visited the dispute island of Iturup, also known as Etorofu in Japanese, drawing sharp reaction from Tokyo. #CutTheClutter Episode 1880 looks at these two events, their significance & how they have put Indo-Pacific back in focus. ThePrint Editor-In-Chief Shekhar Gupta also traces the longstanding dispute between Russia & Japan over Kuril Islands. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To Watch CTC : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nJK7YvcQWw&list=PLfa0eRI2uIaR1iOJnq7tklxIJDLxTxI5y&index=1003 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- asusexpertbook  @ASUSIndia.official  Checkout the ASUS Expertbook series: https://www.flipkart.com/asus-expertbook-core-ultra-store

On today's Strategy Series program, sponsored by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Dr. Tom Mahnken, the president and CEO of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, joins Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss the report he co-wrote his son Thomas Mahnken who is an analyst with the think tank — “Rising Stars Over the Pacific: Cultivating Indo-Pacific Expertise in the US Armed Forces” — that focuses on the importance of promoting senior officers with Indo-Pacific experience to better prepare prepare America's military for potential conflict in the region.

Leopard sharks have nearly vanished from the waters in Raja Ampat, Indonesia. The country is one of the largest shark fishing nations in the world. Now, a first-of-its-kind conservation project is working to bring Indo-Pacific leopard sharks back from the brink of extinction. This international project hatches their eggs and raises shark pups to rewild them into the ocean where they once thrived. Will it be enough?For answers, we talk to freelance journalist Katerina Barton. She takes us behind-the-scenes to a shark nursery and shares what this conservation project could mean for other shark species.Interested in more conservation news? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. It includes perks like bonus episodes, early access, archive access, curated playlists and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:  First—A new U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal for Iran appears to have collapsed almost as soon as it arrived in Tehran. Now, President Trump says he is close to deciding whether to launch what he described as a “massive attack”—one bigger than anything seen in the war so far—while both sides continue expanding their military operations. Later in the show—The Pentagon quietly moved one of America's newest hypersonic weapons within range of China's coastline. We'll explain why the deployment matters—and what it reveals about how the U.S. is preparing for a potential conflict in the Indo-Pacific. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President's Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief HomeServe: Protect your home systems from expensive repairs with https://HomeServe.com/dailybrief and get 50% off your first year of coverage. Goldbelly: Impress your family and friends - get free shipping and 20% off your first order at https://GOLDBELLY.com with code PDB. Poncho Outdoors: Gear up for summer with Poncho and grab $10 off plus free shipping at https://ponchooutdoors.com/PDB Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

STREAMING MAKING JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW, FEATURING GORDON CHANG, STEVE YATES, CLEO PASKAL, CHARLES BURTON, 7-15-26The John Batchelor Show features discussions with experts regarding shifting political dynamics and security concerns in the Indo-Pacific and North America. Steve Yates explains the rise of Taiwan's TPP party, a former youth movement now acting as a legislative power broker that is pursuing controversial engagement with mainland China. Meanwhile, Cleo Paskal details how Beijing utilizes cognitive warfare and economic pressure to influence small island nations like Palau and the Solomon Islands. The dialogue also addresses Canadian domestic issues, including the geopolitical tensions surrounding the Gordie Howe International Bridge and concerns over Chinese interference within Canada'spolitical elite. Throughout the segments, the participants highlight a consistent pattern of Chinese efforts to divide democratic allies and expand regional dominance through both propaganda and trade promises.Formatted as a single paragraph. One correction: Cleo Paskal (source had Pascal).