Recent events have put aid, China and the Indo-Pacific squarely on the map for many Australians. So there was no better a time for The Lab to host Anka Lee, USAID’s acting Deputy Assistant Administrator and Senior Advisor for the PRC, at our Situation Room just last week. He was in Australia on behalf of USAID who are creating a policy on countering China’s growing influence.
The Situation Room is a Chatham-house style discussion among industry professionals, foreign policy experts and development leaders. However, Anka’s opening address was too good not to share. With his permission, join the Lab’s own Bridi Rice as we share Anka’s opening remarks and unpack what that means for Australia.
He dives into the challenges that USAID is trying to solve when it comes to China and development, and what principles they’ll take into developing a response. Bridi tackles what all of this means for Australia and how our own narratives determine where to from here.
President Biden has just held the first Summit for Democracy. What will it mean for the Indo-Pacific? Before we dive into the complexities for our region, let’s find out what happened at the Summit. With Richard Maude from Asia Society and Bryce Wakefield from AIIA.
To learn more about the state of democracy, and what the Summit will mean for the region, let’s start where we should – with a Pacific perspective. With Serena Sasingian from The Voice.
So we’ve heard why governance support is critical for prosperity in the region. But just how seriously should Australia take this? According to one of Australia’s top security experts – very. With Professor John Blaxland from ANU.
What exactly does ‘democracy promotion’ mean in real terms? How do practitioners approach the work? And critically – what’s the challenge with adopting a US-style approach to the issue? With Dr Nicola Nixon and Peter Yates from The Asia Foundation.
We’ve heard a lot of about the different approaches of the US compared with Australia. So how does the US go about democracy promotion? With Blake Chrystal from USAID.
