<description>&lt;p&gt;China’s presence in Latin America has expanded rapidly over the past two decades, reshaping the region’s economies, politics, and strategic landscape. From major infrastructure projects and digital ecosystems to shifting patterns of trade, finance, and influence, Beijing’s role is becoming both more complex and more contested.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Guest: Margaret Myers (Managing Director, Institute for America, China, and the Future of Global Affairs, Johns Hopkins SAIS; Senior Advisor, Inter-American Dialogue)&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Recorded 19th November, 2025&lt;/p&gt;
</description>

China’s presence in Latin America has expanded rapidly over the past two decades, reshaping the region’s economies, politics, and strategic landscape. 

China’s presence in Latin America has expanded rapidly over the past two decades, reshaping the region’s economies, politics, and strategic landscape. From major infrastructure projects and digital ecosystems to shifting patterns of trade, finance, and influence, Beijing’s role is becoming both more complex and more contested.

Guest: Margaret Myers (Managing Director, Institute for America, China, and the Future of Global Affairs, Johns Hopkins SAIS; Senior Advisor, Inter-American Dialogue)

Recorded 19th November, 2025

#254: China's Evolving Role in Latin America

<description>&lt;p&gt;Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has upended global geopolitics — and its ripple effects have reached deep into Southeast Asia. How has the Kremlin’s “pivot to Asia” evolved under Vladimir Putin and has Russia been able to advance its economic and geopolitical interests in Southeast Asia? How did regional states react to Russian aggression against Ukraine and what explains their differing responses to the invasion?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In this book launch event, Dr Ian Storey discusses his new book Putin’s Russia and Southeast Asia: The Kremlin’s Pivot to Asia and the Impact of the Russia-Ukraine War, exploring Russia’s strategic aims, energy diplomacy, and defence ties in the region.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;How resilient are these relationships in the face of war, sanctions, and shifting alliances? And what does this mean for Southeast Asia’s future place in a fragmenting world order?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Recorded on 25th November, 2025.&lt;/p&gt;
</description>

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has upended global geopolitics — and its ripple effects have reached deep into Southeast Asia.

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has upended global geopolitics — and its ripple effects have reached deep into Southeast Asia. How has the Kremlin’s “pivot to Asia” evolved under Vladimir Putin and has Russia been able to advance its economic and geopolitical interests in Southeast Asia? How did regional states react to Russian aggression against Ukraine and what explains their differing responses to the invasion?

In this book launch event, Dr Ian Storey discusses his new book Putin’s Russia and Southeast Asia: The Kremlin’s Pivot to Asia and the Impact of the Russia-Ukraine War, exploring Russia’s strategic aims, energy diplomacy, and defence ties in the region.

How resilient are these relationships in the face of war, sanctions, and shifting alliances? And what does this mean for Southeast Asia’s future place in a fragmenting world order?

Recorded on 25th November, 2025.

Putin's Asia Strategy

<description>&lt;p&gt;Across the Indo-Pacific rising geopolitical tensions, democratic backsliding, and climate-related instability are increasing the risk of violent conflict. Yet far less attention — and funding — is devoted to preventing crises before they occur.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Early-warning, multi-track diplomacy, locally grounded peacebuilding, and whole-of-government coherence are all strategies that can be employed to develop a more effective approach.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;How can governments, aid agencies, and regional bodies work together to spot risks early and build resilience? What part should Australia play in linking diplomacy, aid, and security? And how can prevention be woven into regional cooperation across Southeast Asia and the Pacific?&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Panel:
&lt;br /&gt;William Leben (Senior Analyst, Development Intelligence Lab)
&lt;br /&gt;Assoc. Professor Jasmine Westendorf (Co-Director of Initiative for Peacebuilding, University of Melbourne)
&lt;br /&gt;Dr Natalie Sambhi (Executive Director, Verve Research)
&lt;br /&gt;Professor Bec Strating (Director, La Trobe Asia)&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Recorded on 20th November, 2025.&lt;/p&gt;
</description>

Across the Indo-Pacific rising geopolitical tensions, democratic backsliding, and climate-related instability are increasing the risk of violent conflict.

Across the Indo-Pacific rising geopolitical tensions, democratic backsliding, and climate-related instability are increasing the risk of violent conflict. Yet far less attention — and funding — is devoted to preventing crises before they occur.

Early-warning, multi-track diplomacy, locally grounded peacebuilding, and whole-of-government coherence are all strategies that can be employed to develop a more effective approach.

How can governments, aid agencies, and regional bodies work together to spot risks early and build resilience? What part should Australia play in linking diplomacy, aid, and security? And how can prevention be woven into regional cooperation across Southeast Asia and the Pacific?

Panel:
William Leben (Senior Analyst, Development Intelligence Lab)
Assoc. Professor Jasmine Westendorf (Co-Director of Initiative for Peacebuilding, University of Melbourne)
Dr Natalie Sambhi (Executive Director, Verve Research)
Professor Bec Strating (Director, La Trobe Asia)

Recorded on 20th November, 2025.


Conflict Prevention in the Indo-Pacific

<description>&lt;p&gt;For more than a thousand years, India stood at the heart of the ancient world — a confident exporter of ideas, art, religion, science, and philosophy that travelled from the Red Sea to the Pacific. &lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;In his new book, "The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World", respected historian and author William Dalrymple traces this extraordinary flow of culture and knowledge, showing how Indian civilisation shaped everything from Roman trade to Chinese Buddhism and even the numbers we use today — reminding us of India’s remarkable role as the engine of global culture.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Guest: William Dalrymple&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Recorded 11th November, 2025.&lt;/p&gt;
</description>

For more than a thousand years, India stood at the heart of the ancient world — a confident exporter of ideas, art, religion, science, and philosophy that travelled from the Red Sea to the Pacific. 

For more than a thousand years, India stood at the heart of the ancient world — a confident exporter of ideas, art, religion, science, and philosophy that travelled from the Red Sea to the Pacific. 

In his new book, “The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World”, respected historian and author William Dalrymple traces this extraordinary flow of culture and knowledge, showing how Indian civilisation shaped everything from Roman trade to Chinese Buddhism and even the numbers we use today — reminding us of India’s remarkable role as the engine of global culture.

Guest: William Dalrymple

Recorded 11th November, 2025.

#253: How Ancient India Transformed the World

<description>&lt;p&gt;Over the past decade, China has moved from maintaining a relatively modest nuclear deterrent of around 300 warheads to constructing hundreds of new missile silos and expanding toward a projected 1,000 warheads by the 2030s. This is happening alongside breakthroughs in nuclear energy and technology, positioning China as both a nuclear power and nuclear supplier on a global scale.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Guest: Dr Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan (Resident Senior Fellow, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Canberra)&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Recorded on 30th October, 2025.&lt;/p&gt;
</description>

Over the past decade, China has moved from maintaining a relatively modest nuclear deterrent of around 300 warheads to constructing hundreds of new missile silos and expanding toward a projected 1,000 warheads by the 2030s.

Over the past decade, China has moved from maintaining a relatively modest nuclear deterrent of around 300 warheads to constructing hundreds of new missile silos and expanding toward a projected 1,000 warheads by the 2030s. This is happening alongside breakthroughs in nuclear energy and technology, positioning China as both a nuclear power and nuclear supplier on a global scale.

Guest: Dr Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan (Resident Senior Fellow, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Canberra)

Recorded on 30th October, 2025.

#252: China's Rapid Nuclear Expansion

Asia Rising, the podcast of La Trobe Asia which takes a critical look at the key issues facing Asia's states and societies.

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