Ep. 169: Tim Watts MP on the Indian Ocean Region & inputs to successful foreign policy

Darren welcomes back Tim Watts MP to the podcast. Tim is now the government’s Special Envoy for Indian Ocean Affairs having also served as assistant minister for foreign affairs in the Albanese government’s first term. The discussion begins with Tim’s new role and the importance of the Indian Ocean Region to Australia’s national interests. From there, Darren asks Tim to reflect on his time as Assistant Foreign Minister and what the work he did says about Australian foreign policy more broadly. What are the inputs to success? The conversation finishes with the vital (and ongoing) challenge of Asian capability. 

Australia in the World is written, hosted, and produced by Darren Lim, with research and editing this episode by Hannah Nelson and theme music composed by Rory Stenning.

Relevant links

Peter Dean and Alice Nason, An Australian Indian Ocean agenda to 2035, United States Studies Centre Report, September 2025: https://www.ussc.edu.au/an-australian-indian-ocean-agenda-to-2035

Allan Gyngell, “White-papering Australian foreign policy”, East Asia Forum, 22 May 2017: https://eastasiaforum.org/2017/05/22/white-papering-australian-foreign-policy/

Tim Watts, “Complacent nation: Australia and the Asian Century”, Lowy Interpreter, 22 September 2025: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/complacent-nation-australia-asian-century

Joya Chatterji, Shadows at Noon: The South Asian Twentieth Century (Vintage, 2024): https://www.penguin.com.au/books/shadows-at-noon-9781529925555

David Van Reybrouck, Revolusi: Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World (Vintage, 2025): https://www.penguin.com.au/books/revolusi-9781529931525

Stephen Dziedzic and Yiying Li, “BHP vs China Inc: What the iron ore dispute says about Australia's present and future”, ABC News, 17 October: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-17/what-bhp-china-iron-ore-dispute-means-to-australia/105901692