Show Notes
The Indo-Pacific is often described as a maritime region, but the oceans here are far more than geography. They are trade corridors, food sources, energy highways, and increasingly, sites of strategic competition. How states think about security at sea—what some now call blue security—is becoming central to regional order.
Dr Troy Lee-Brown (Research Fellow, University of Western Australia Defence and Security Institute, and Project Manager of the Blue Security Program)
Recorded on 19th January, 2026.
More from Asia Rising
China’s new Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress is presented by Beijing as a policy of development and equality. For Tibetans, it represents something very different.
The waters of the South China Sea - including areas the Philippines refers to as the West Philippine Sea - are at the centre of some of the Indo-Pacific’s most important maritime disputes. These waters bring together competing territorial and maritime claims, strategic interests, and the rights and interests of coastal states. They are also vital to fishing communities and populations whose livelihoods and security depend on access to the sea.
Few diplomatic careers span Moscow during the invasion of Ukraine, the remote islands of the Pacific, and Canberra. Germany's Ambassador to Australia, Beate Grzeski, has lived all three - and the thread connecting them says something about how the world is changing.
Few events in recent history have generated as much confusion, controversy, and misinformation as the COVID-19 pandemic. Five years on, the origins of COVID remain contested, and the lessons of how that debate played out carry hard implications for global health security for years to come.
The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is fast becoming one of the world's most contested global commons. Home to critical sea lanes, energy and trade corridors, and a growing contest for influence among major and middle powers, traditional security challenges are growing and competing.