Lowy Institute – Details, episodes & analysis

From deals on policing in Solomon Islands to building parliamentary complexes in Vanuatu, China’s outreach and activities in the Pacific Islands region appear indefatigable.

In the words of Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Canberra and its partners are locked in a "state of permanent contest" with Beijing over influence in the region.

Previously undervalued by larger powers, Pacific Islanders must now grapple with the realities of a region subjected to intense geopolitical competition.

Our panel analysed the rapidly evolving regional security environment and the implications for Australia and the wider Pacific Islands region.

The panel was moderated by Hervé Lemahieu, Director of Research at the Lowy Institute, with expert speakers including:
•    Richard McGregor, Senior Fellow for East Asia, Lowy Institute 
•    Oliver Nobetau, FDC Pacific Research Fellow, Lowy Institute
•    Dr Anna Powles, Associate Professor at the Centre for Defence and Security Studies, Massey University, New Zealand
•    Mihai Sora, Director of the Pacific Islands Program, Lowy Institute

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Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant leads the world’s first government regulatory agency committed to keeping its citizens safer online. While her appointment is domestic, the internet is global. In this episode of Conversations, the Lowy Institute’s Lydia Khalil talks with Inman Grant about what she learned from her previous experience working in the tech industry, how to regulate it, global efforts to coordinate online safety, particularly around AI, and the geopolitics of tech regulation.

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In this special episode of Conversations, the Lowy Institute’s Dr Michael Fullilove and Hervé Lemahieu discuss US President Joe Biden’s momentous decision overnight to withdraw from his bid for a second term.

In the past three weeks, US politics has been reshaped before our eyes. A resurgent former president Donald Trump, emerging from an attempt on his life, appears stronger than ever. Meanwhile, after weeks of defying calls to withdraw from the race, Joe Biden abruptly abandoned his bid for a second term as US president. Will it be enough to turn things around for the Democratic Party, and where does the United States go from here?

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The Chinese Communist Party will shortly hold its 20th National Congress during a highly unsettled period in international affairs. In February, after President Putin and President Xi declared a "friendship without limits", Russia launched its brutal invasion of Ukraine. In August, China responded to US Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei with major military exercises. Meanwhile, President Biden has become increasingly vocal in his support for Taiwan.

Just days ahead of the CCP Congress, the Lowy Institute hosted the head of one of the most influential think tanks in Washington. Richard Fontaine addressed the Lowy Institute on the present and future of international order. After his remarks, Mr Fontaine spoke with Lowy Institute Executive Director Michael Fullilove about US security policy in Asia, China’s challenge to the United States and the rules-based order, as well as how the Ukraine war is being viewed in Washington.

Richard Fontaine is Chief Executive Officer of the Center for a New American Security. He served as President of CNAS from 2012–19 and before that as Senior Fellow from 2009–12. Prior to his time at CNAS, he was foreign policy adviser to Senator John McCain and worked at the US State Department, the National Security Council, and on the staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

This event was hosted as part of the project Australia's Security and the Rules-Based Order, which receives funding from the Australian Department of Defence Strategic Policy Grants Program.

See more about this event at the Lowy Institute website.

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.