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. 10: ASPI’s Danielle Cave and Tom Uren on “cyber”
Ep. 9: US-China rivalry through the lens of regional summitry
Ep. 8: Australian foreign policy speeches, China and Australia's South Pacific pivot/balance, Victoria on the Belt and Road, US midterms and Brazil’s new president
Ep. 7: Jerusalem and the Iran nuclear deal, Khashoggi and Myanmar, Trump vs. the INF and UPU, and quieter Australian diplomacy
Ep. 6: Mike Pence’s Hudson Institute speech and the state of Sino-US relations
Ep. 4: Change at the top; Huawei and 5G, PM Morrison to Indonesia
Ep. 3: Turnbull’s “China reset” speech, Australia’s soft power review, and interview with Miles Kupa
Episode 1: The rules-based international order with Allan Gyngell and Darren Lim
Episode 2: Elections in Pakistan and Cambodia, the new trilateral infrastructure investment fund, and how worried should Australia be about the United States?
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