Podcasts
Learn about and listen to our 2023 events and podcasts
2024 Asia Rising podcasts
2023 Asia Rising podcasts
The Politics of Indian History
In the past few years India's right-wing ruling BJP party has made efforts to change curriculum and censor textbooks in an attempt to deprioritise history that doesn't amplify their narrative - in particular centuries of India's Mughal history.
Guest:
Divya Rama Gopalakrishnan, History, La Trobe University
Host:
Dr Ruth Gamble, Senior Lecturer and DECRA Fellow, Archaeology and History, La Trobe University
Recorded on 7 July 2023
Episode 210
Event: School sport for development in India
There has long been an associated benefit between sport and learning, as it develops communication, social and psychological benefits. In the context of India, it could be used as an active part of the curriculum, to encourage activity-based learning initiatives and improve the quality of school education.
The prospect comes with challenges – India is a populous country, multi-linguistic and culturally diverse. However, India is a sport loving nation, and sport has important roles to play in Indian society. This creates an opportunity for India to use sport as a tool to engage children and adults for increased social participation, livelihoods, development and community connections.
A La Trobe Asia / Australia India Institute event.
Panel:
- Dr Biju Philip, La Trobe Business School, La Trobe University
- The Hon. Lisa Singh, CEO, Australia India Institute
- Mr David Hussey, Head of Male Cricket, Cricket Victoria
- Dr Greg Dingle, La Trobe Business School, La Trobe University
Chair:
Associate Professor Bec Strating, Director, La Trobe Asia
Recorded on 28 July 2023
How Japan Kept the Mongols Out
Along the coast of Hakata Bay in Fukuoka, Japan there is a 13th century wall, built by the local Samurai as defense against a Mongol invasion.
Guest:
Associate Professor Andrew Hall, Asian Studies, Kyushu University
Recorded on 17 April 2023
Episode 209
Event: Australia's Asian Identity
This event explores Australia’s identity in Asia, and what it means for Australia to be in the Asia-Pacific region. Ten years since the ‘Australia in the Asian Century’ Foreign Policy White Paper, we reflect on Australia’s role and national identity in Asia.
What does it mean for Australia to have an Asian Identity? What is Australia’s Asia Identity? What does it mean for Australia to be in Asia? How do we harness multiculturalism in policy making?
Taking a policy and cultural perspective, this event will unpack Australian nationhood and grapple with Australia’s identity in Asia.
Panel:
- Hon Tim Watts MP, Member for Gellibrand and Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs
- Alice Pung OAM, Author
- Dr Sabrina Gupta, Lecturer, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University
Chair:
Associate Professor Bec Strating, Director - La Trobe Asia, La Trobe University
Recorded 14 July 2023
Hiroshima and the Legacy of Peace
When atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, it led a few months later to the surrender of Japan, effectively ending World War 2. There were up to 150,000 casualties in the atomic blast, and the magnitude of the devastation has changed how the Japanese view war and how Hiroshima sees itself today.
Guest:
Associate Professor Luli van der Does, Director of the Center for Peace, Hiroshima University
Recorded on 19 April 2023
Episode 208
Asia's Reaction to the Invasion of Ukraine
In June 2022 Indonesian President Joko Widodo went first to the Ukraine, and later to Moscow, hand delivering a letter from President Zelensky to Vladimir Putin. His purpose, to quote, was to open a dialogue forum for peace, to build peace, because the war has to be stopped.
Widodo’s carefully worded statement, about ending a war but not necessarily pointing fingers, is emblematic of Asia’s response to the Ukraine invasion, to the extent where a UN vote for sanctions against the Ukraine earned the muted response of most Asian counties abstaining from voting.
Guest:
Associate Professor Nobuhiro Aizawa, School of Social and Cultural Studies, Kyushu University
Recorded on 18 April 2023
Episode 207
Event: Australia’s Foreign Policy Under a New Government
A year has passed since a new Labor government took power after nine years occupying the opposition benches. Over this time, the new government has prioritised the deepening of genuine partnerships with states across Asia and the Pacific, particularly in its foreign policy narratives.
At the same time, Australia has also made decisive moves in the name of national defence, by solidifying deals with old allies, developing a new strategy to confront current and future threats, and committed future governments to substantial increases in defence spending, including by advancing the previous government’s plan for nuclear powered submarines.
How has the Albanese government positioned Australia’s foreign and defence policy in its first year of power? How is this approach similar and/or different from the previous government? Have relationships with states across Asia and the Pacific improved or deteriorated? And how do we know?
Panel:
Professor Peter Dean, Director, Foreign Policy and Defence, United States Studies Centre
Yun Jiang, AIIA China Matters Fellow
Kevin Magee, Former Ambassador and Policy Fellow, Australian National University
Chair:
Associate Professor Bec Strating, Director, La Trobe Asia
Recorded 30 May 2023
How Japan is Redefining Defence
Japan is forbidden by their constitution to use force as a means of settling international disputes, or maintaining military forces with the potential of war.
Japan relies heavily on the concept of defence, and how they define it has repercussions for the strategic safety of Japan and its international alliances.
Guest:
Professor Alessio Patalano, Department of War Studies , King's College London
Recorded 20 April 2023 in Japan as part of the 'Strengthening the Regional Maritime Security Order' project which received funding from the Australia-Japan Foundation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office.
Episode 206
Japan's Relationship with China
Japan has always had a tense relationship with China, but now due to both their geographic proximity and their close alliance with western countries, this tension is taking on new dimensions.
Guest:
Professor Chisako Masuo, Graduate School of Social and Cultural Studies, Kyushu University
Recorded 18 April 2023 in Japan as part of the 'Strengthening the Regional Maritime Security Order' project which received funding from the Australia-Japan Foundation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office.
Episode 205
Japan's Relationship with Russia
Japan and Russia are geographically close, but have always had an uneasy relationship. Territorial disputes, strained diplomacy, and an unsigned war era peace treaty has amounted to strained bilateral ties, with little sign of easing.
Guest:
Professor James Brown, Politics, Temple University
Recorded 20 April 2023
Episode 204
Event: Fresh Perspectives on the Quad
Emerging leaders from Australia, Japan, India and the United States discuss key issues facing the ‘Quad’, and puts forward a strong case for the Quad working together on non-traditional security issues across the Indo-Pacific region.
The next generation of Quad leaders view enhancing resilience against grey zone challenges, geoeconomics, outer spaces, critical technologies and human security as keys to unlocking the Quad’s potential. This challenges the Quad to deliver on public goods commitments to strengthen the free and open Indo-Pacific.
This a recording of the launch of the eighth issue of the La Trobe Asia Brief produced from the La Trobe Asia Emerging Leaders Program, funded and supported by the United States Embassy in Canberra.
Panel:
- Patrick Saunders, Humanitarian Services, AMES Australia
- Abhishek Sharma, Pacific Forum and University of Delhi
- Eleanor Shiori Hughes, Non-resident Fellow, EconVue
- Afeeya Akhand, Research Intern, Australian Strategic Policy Institute
Chair:
Kate Clayton, Research Officer, La Trobe Asia, La Trobe University
Recorded 3 May 2023
Event: Australia and Southeast Asia: A Joint Agenda for Maritime Security
What does it look like for Australia and Southeast Asia to develop a joint agenda for maritime security?
La Trobe Asia, consortium lead for the Blue Security program, launched the first paper in a series on Maritime Security in Southeast Asia.
Blue Security is a collaboration between La Trobe Asia, Griffith Asia Institute (GAI), University of New South Wales Canberra (ADFA), University of Western Australia’s Defence and Security Institute (DSI) and the Asia-Pacific Development, Diplomacy and Defence Dialogue (AP4D).
Panel:
- Melissa Conley Tyler, Executive Director, Asia-Pacific Development, Defence & Diplomacy Dialogue
- Aristyo Rizka Darmawan, Lecturer, Universitas Indonesia
- Associate Professor Charmaine Misalucha-Willoughby, De La Salle University
Chair:
Associate Professor Bec Strating, Director - La Trobe Asia, La Trobe University
Recorded on 26 April 2023
China's Global Media Campaign
The message conveyed by global media can be a powerful one, useful in influencing public perception and shaping politics, local media and information environments.
Controlling the media narrative, usually through influence or your own state-run outlets, is of great interest to China. The superpower is actively seeking to insert itself into many other countries’ elections, social media, media, and overall politics.
Guest:
Joshua Kurlantzick, Senior Fellow for Southeast Asia Council on Foreign Relations and author of Beijing's Global Media Offensive: China's Uneven Campaign To Influence Asia and the World
Recorded on 16 February 2023
Episode 203
Rising Sea Levels and Coastal Territory
A recent UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report found global sea levels have been rising at an accelerated rate.
For the small island nations of the Asia Pacific this is sobering news, but even for larger nations, lets take Indonesia, there are significant consequences. As an archipelagic state with more than 17,000 islands stretching over 80,000 kilometres of coastline, it should be alarmed by the implications.
One issue is that your water territory, your exclusive economic zone (or EEZ) is measured as a distance from your coastline. And if your coastline changes, be it through rising sea levels or land reclamations, that has implications for you, your resources and your neighbours.
Guest:
Assistant Professor Tara Davenport, Deputy Director, Asia-Pacific Centre for Environmental Law, National University of Singapore
Recorded on 28 November 2022
Episode 202
Indigenous Language Politics in the Philippines
There are around 170 Indigenous languages spoken in the Philippines, as well as speakers of English, Spanish and several Chinese languages. Most people are multilingual, with more than 90 percent of the population speaking one or more language.
Guest:
Professor Tuting Hernandez, Department of Linguistics, University of the Philippines
Recorded on 22 November 2022
Episode 201
Event: Australia’s Asia-Pacific Engagement: Past and Future
Australia’s relationships in and with Asia and the Pacific is a perennial feature of debates about its foreign and defence policy and how it projects its sense of identity on the world stage. In recent years Australia’s interaction with major powers have become much more complex. As Australia reconceptualises future directions in dealing with allies and neighbours, and its position in Asia and the Pacific more broadly, what lessons does history offer?
What forces have influenced Australia’s role on the world stage both historically and today? What is the future direction of Australia’s foreign relations? How should we reposition what we know about Australia’s international relations and its Asia engagement for an increasingly contested future?
This event was the Melbourne launch of the book Australia on the World Stage edited by Benjamin T Jones, Bridget Brooklyn and Bec Strating.
Panel:
- Wesa Chau, Founder and CEO, Cultural Intelligence
- Dr Benjamin T Jones, History, Central Queensland University
- Dr Michael O’Keefe, Politics, La Trobe University
- Dr Nicholas Ferns, History, Monash University
Chair:
Associate Professor Bec Strating, Director, La Trobe Asia
This was a hybrid event, recorded on 21 March 2023 at our City Campus and streamed online.
The State of Asia in 2023
What pressures will the Russian invasion of Ukraine put on Asia? How will China recover post-covid? Will the Quad and AUKUS change power dynamics in the region?
To celebrate the 200th episode of Asia Rising, a special recording to discuss the news, views and general happenings of Asian states and societies in 2023.
Guests:
- Professor Nick Bisley, Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University
- Associate Professor Bec Strating, Director, La Trobe Asia
Recorded 13 February 2023
Episode 200
A Walk in the Gardens by the Bay, Singapore
The Gardens by the Bay are an iconic feature of Singapore, where they dominate every tourist photograph with their towering tree-like structures. Now celebrating their tenth year, they are an emblem of the success in the greening of the city.
Guest:
Felix Loh, Chief Executive Officer, Gardens by the Bay
Recorded on 28 November 2022
Episode 199
Event: What Indonesia’s Criminal Code Means for Human Rights
Indonesia has passed a new criminal code, amongst which are a raft of controversial new morality laws and speech restrictions, including banning sex outside of marriage, insulting the president, and expressing any view that runs counter to state ideology.
There are important implications for democratic freedoms in Indonesia, and human rights concerns on the implications of for women, religious minorities, and gender diverse groups.
What does the new criminal code imply for human rights in Indonesia? How has the Indonesian public responded to the new criminal code? What could it mean in the lead-up to the 2024 general election?
A La Trobe Asia event in collaboration with Human Rights Watch.
Panel
- Andreas Harsono, Human Rights Watch, Indonesia
- Associate Professor Dirk Tomsa, Politics, La Trobe University
- Dr Dina Afrianty, La Trobe Law School, La Trobe University
Chair
Associate Professor Bec Strating, La Trobe Asia, La Trobe University
This was a hybrid event, recorded on 7 February 2023 at our City Campus and streamed online.
Event: China and the Power of Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping has secured a historic third term as general secretary with unmatched political authority. This has given China a new drive to retain its position as a global superpower, and a desire to restore what Xi believes is China’s natural position of leadership in the world.
As China attempts to reassert itself after harsh covid-19 lock-downs, what is driving Chinese foreign policy under current President Xi. What is his vision for China in the world? And what are the implications of President Xi’s agenda for other states in the region?
An event to celebrate Professor Suisheng Zhao's new book :The Dragon Roars Back - Transformational Leaders and Dynamics of Chinese Foreign Policy", published by Stanford University.
Panel
- Professor Suisheng Zhao, Director, Center for China-US Cooperation, University of Denver
- Dr Yangbin Chen, Coordinator, Chinese Studies Program, La Trobe University
- Dr Diane Hu, Research Fellow, Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies, University of Melbourne
Chair
Associate Professor Bec Strating, Director, La Trobe Asia
This was a hybrid event, recorded on 3 February 2023 at our City Campus and streamed online.
Singapore's Relationship with China
Singapore is a small country, highly reliant on commerce and trade, and with strong ties to China. This relationship can be at odds with other practices, for example: Its small military has an active conscription system. All citizens need to serve at least two years in the military, and their training bases are in Taiwan.
Guest
Associate Professor Ian Chong, Political Science, National University of Singapore
Recorded on 25 November 2022
Episode 198
The Philippines Relationship with China
In 2022 The Philippines elected a new president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, and with him came a pivot in international views, particularly towards China and the United States. The previous administration led by Rodrigo Duterte had embraced China and the development opportunities it had to offer, and while Marcos Jr might continue this, it might be with slightly less enthusiasm.
Guest
Professor Aries Arugay, Political Science, University of the Philippines
Recorded 23 November 2022
Episode #197