Australia in the World

Ep. 5: UN General Assembly Meetings; US-China trade war; Australian foreign aid

In this fifth episode of the podcast, Allan and Darren begin by describing their recent overseas trips—Allan to Beijing, and Darren to Seoul.

The analysis of recent events opens with a focus on the recent leaders’ meetings at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. Donald Trump made the most headlines by bringing his “America First” doctrine to the heart of global multilateralism, and Darren asks about the extent to which we should attach any significance to this fact. The discussion turns to Australia, and our new Foreign Minister Marise Payne’s UNGA speech and its contrast with Trump. While she was in New York, Senator Payne also met with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, hopefully advancing the “reset” in bilateral relations that was kicked off by (former) Prime Minister Turnbull. Finally, Allan and Darren discuss New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s “baby diplomacy” in New York, and the genuine soft power success it represents.

The discussion turns to the trade war between the US and China, which escalated in September with a fresh round of tariffs being imposed on both sides. Darren elects to play devil’s advocate, posing three arguments to Allan for why the trade war might actually be positive for Australia’s interests—one economic, one strategic, and one political. Allan dismisses each in turn!

Finally, against the background of the recent earthquake and tsunami that has devastated the Indonesian island of Sulawesi and the city of Palu in particular, the discussion briefly takes stock of the current state of the Australian aid program, given the downgrading of the portfolio from a ministerial position—the new Assistant Minister is Senator Anne Ruston.

As always, our thanks go to AIIA interns Stephanie Rowell and Mani Bovell, Martyn Pearce of the ANU’s Crawford School, Rory Stenning for composing our theme music, and AIIA CEO Melissa Conley-Tyler.

Ep. 4: Change at the top; Huawei and 5G, PM Morrison to Indonesia

In this fourth episode, Allan and Darren discuss how the chaos that led to Scott Morrison replacing Malcolm Turnbull as Prime Minister may affect Australian foreign policy, both in terms of overall policy direction and how Australia is perceived abroad. They also discuss the impact of leadership change on Australia’s foreign policy bureaucracy, before reflecting on Julie Bishop’s legacy as foreign minister.

The other major event from the past few weeks was the Australian government’s effective ban of Chinese company Huawei from participating in the construction of the forthcoming 5G telecommunications network. Allan and Darren discuss the processes and inputs to this decision, including the role of the National Security Committee of Cabinet, as well as the Chinese reaction. 

The two then discuss new Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s trip to Indonesia, in particular why he would have chosen to travel so soon after becoming Prime Minister, and then finally they cover the White House’s decision for Donald Trump not to attend upcoming regional summits in Asia. 

As always, our thanks go to AIIA interns Stephanie Rowell and Mani Bovell, Martyn Pearce of the ANU’s Crawford School, Rory Stenning for composing our theme music, and AIIA CEO Melissa Conley-Tyler.

Ep. 3: Turnbull’s “China reset” speech, Australia’s soft power review, and interview with Miles Kupa

In the third episode of the Australia in the World podcast, AIIA National President Allan Gyngell and ANU academic Darren Lim discuss the efforts of Prime Minister (at the time of recording) Malcolm Turnbull to “reset” bilateral relations with China in a recent speech, and the topic of Australia’s soft power, in light of a review announced by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. Allan and Darren then welcome the podcast’s first ever guest, Miles Kupa, to discuss Malaysia and Indonesia.

Miles Kupa has been Australia’s Ambassador / High Commissioner in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, as well as Deputy Head of Mission in Jakarta, Chief of Staff to Foreign Minister Gareth Evans and Deputy Secretary in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. 

We give special thanks to AIIA CEO Melissa Conley-Tyler for her help in getting the podcast established. We also thank AIIA interns Stephanie Rowell our research assistant and Mani Bovell our audio engineer, Martyn Pearce of the Crawford School for technical support, and Rory Stenning for composing our theme music.

Episode 1: The rules-based international order with Allan Gyngell and Darren Lim

In the pilot episode of the “Australia in the world” podcast, the Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA) National President Allan Gyngell and the ANU's Dr Darren Lim discuss the rules-based international order and the priorities and challenges facing Australia as it seeks to shore up this key pillar of its foreign policy. The rules-based order was the subject of conference on Australia and the Rules-Based International Order held on 18-19 July organised by the Australian Institute of International Affairs, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and ANU Coral Bell School with the support of the Attorney-General’s Department. The conference brought together many of Australia’s leading foreign policy officials and thinkers discussed various aspects of the order.

Allan’s bio: https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/about-us/our-people/allan-gyngell/

Darren’s bio: https://researchers.anu.edu.au/researchers/lim-dj

Allan Gyngell’s opinion piece on the rules-based order in the Australian Financial Review: https://www.afr.com/opinion/columnists/if-trump-just-quits-the-rulesbased-order--what-happens-next-20180723-h130ds

This episode is cross-posted with the AIIA's own channel.

Episode 2: Elections in Pakistan and Cambodia, the new trilateral infrastructure investment fund, and how worried should Australia be about the United States?

In the second episode of the new Australia in the World podcast, AIIA National President Allan Gyngell and ANU academic Darren Lim discuss recent elections in Pakistan and Cambodia, a new trilateral investment fund announced by the United States, Japan and Australia, and the recent AUSMIN talks. The discussion finishes with a deeper dive into the topic of how worried Australia should be about the decline of the United States.

 

Allan’s bio: https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/about-us/our-people/allan-gyngell/

 

Darren’s bio: https://researchers.anu.edu.au/researchers/lim-dj

 

Episode 2: Elections in Pakistan and Cambodia, the new trilateral infrastructure investment fund, and how worried should Australia be about the United States?

 

In the second episode of the new Australia in the World podcast, AIIA National President Allan Gyngell and ANU academic Darren Lim discusses recent elections in Pakistan and Cambodia, a new trilateral investment fund announced by the United States, Japan and Australia, and the recent AUSMIN talks. The discussion finishes with a deeper dive into the topic of how worried Australia should be about the decline of the United States.

 

Allan’s bio: https://www.internationalaffairs.org.au/about-us/our-people/allan-gyngell/

 

Darren’s bio: https://researchers.anu.edu.au/researchers/lim-dj

 

We thank the people who helped make this possible, in particular AIIA interns Stephanie Rowell our research assistant and Mani Bovell our audio engineer, Martyn Pearce and Maya Bhandari of the Crawford School for technical support, Rory Stenning for composing our theme music and AIIA CEO Melissa Conley-Tyler for her hard work behind the scenes to help make this happen.