Lowy Institute: Live Events

On the 8 May, the Lowy Institute hosted its twelfth annual New Voices conference on the theme “Is Geopolitics Returning to Asia?” After the conference, convenor Ashley Townshend caught up with New Voices panellists Dr Cui Lei, Research Fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, and Michael Mazza, Research Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, to discuss Chinese and U.S. views on island-building and maritime security in the South China Sea.

The intentions behind China's activities in the South China Sea and East China Sea are the source of considerable debate in Australia, in the region, and around the world. China asserts it is peacefully protecting its historic sovereignty. Many Western analysts fear that China is aggressively attempting to become the predominant power in the region. However, despite heated discussion, it is difficult to say with certainty what China is aiming to achieve, or what the implications and unintended consequences might be. On 19 May Lowy Nonresident Fellows Bonnie Glaser and Linda Jakobson and East Asia Program Director Merriden Varrall examined of the motivations behind China's activities in the maritime arena, drawing on their many years of experience working on China's foreign policy.

On Thursday 14 May the Lowy Institute hosted the Hon Peter O’Neill, MP CMG, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea 2015 is a defining year for Papua New Guinea. The country will record the highest GDP growth rate in the world this year. Papua New Guinea faces serious development challenges but is making progress with the introduction of free education and healthcare and the expected completion of major infrastructure projects. The Papua New Guinea government will host the Pacific Islands Forum leaders’ summit and the Pacific Games in 2015. In his address, Prime Minister O’Neill will reflect on Papua New Guinea’s place in the world as it celebrates 40 years of independence from Australia this year.

We talk to the editor of one of Papua New Guinea's major newspapers.

On 29 April, Hayden Cooper, winner of the 2014 Lowy Institute Media Award, discussed his time reporting for the ABC on the Middle East, including some of the big stories he covered, from the Peter Greste trial in Egypt to the 2014 war in Gaza.

Australian Foreign Julie Bishop is about to visit Tehran. Middle East expert Rodger Shanahan discusses her agenda.

Australians and Indonesians learn much of what they know about each other through the media. Yet polling shows neither side has a deep understanding of the other. On Monday 13 April, Lowy Institute Indonesia expert Aaron Connelly moderated a panel discussion with Andini Effendi, Senior International Correspondent of Metro TV, based in Jakarta, and ABC Senior reporter and former Jakarta correspondent Helen Brown, where they discussed the shared challenges facing the press in both countries. The event also featured other participants from the day's inaugural Lowy Institute Media Dialogue, as well as questions from audience attendees including Tom Switzer, Geraldine Doogue, and Stephen Grenville.

On 2 April the United States and Iran announced that they had agreed parameters for a comprehensive nuclear agreement to be concluded by the end of June 2015. On 9 April the Lowy Institute convened a distinguished panel chaired by Lowy Institute Executive Director, Dr Michael Fullilove, to discuss the outcome of these high-stakes negotiations. Anthony Bubalo, Research Director at the Lowy Institute, John Carlson AM, former Director General, Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office and Greg Sheridan, Foreign Editor with The Australian, considered and discussed the implications of any nuclear agreement on security and proliferation in the Middle East and the wider world.

Professor Cheng Li from the Brookings Institution speaks with the Lowy Institute's Dr Merriden Varrall regarding China's foreign policy under Xi Jinping.

China's role in international affairs is growing rapidly, but how much do we really understand about who is making decisions in China, and why? In the Lowy Institute's annual China lecture, Professor Cheng Li, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, examined how the current Chinese leadership under Xi Jinping sees the connection between the international and China's domestic situation, and analysed what implications these views have for Chinese foreign policy. Professor Li discussed how the Xi leadership sees China's relationship with existing norms and institutions, and the rationale behind creating new institutions such as the AIIB and the 'One Belt One Road'. He also looked at what Chinese leaders want to achieve when they head up the G20 in 2016. The Lowy Institute is grateful to AMP for their kind support of this event series.

Distinguished historian of Southeast Asia Milton Osborne discusses the achievements of Lee Kuan Yew, who died earlier this week.

The new head of ANU’s National Security College and Lowy Institute Nonresident Fellow, Professor Rory Medcalf, discusses his views that Australia needs to rethink how it approaches and considers national security and defence. The interviewer is Lowy Institute Research Director Anthony Bubalo. Professor Medcalf outlines what new security risks Australia faces, and why he believes this security rethink is necessary. Anthony also asks Rory which nations he thinks are key strategic partners for Australia in the region:

Prof Bernard Haykel says the threat of returning fighters has been overstated. Most go to Syria and Iraq with no ambition of returning.

To commemorate International Women’s Day 2015, the Lowy Institute for International Policy hosted a special ‘Women in Foreign Policy’ panel. Jenny Hayward-Jones, Lauren Williams, Elaine Pearson and Geraldine Doogue discussed the gender challenges faced by women in Melanesia, Asia Pacific and the Middle East, as well as their personal experiences perusing careers that research, report and advocate gender issues in foreign policy.

Few countries around the world have been untouched by the rise of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and Indonesia is no exception. Extremists groups in Indonesia have pledged allegiance to Islamic State and a small but significant number of Indonesians have joined the ranks of foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq. On 10 March, the Lowy Institute was pleased to host a conversation with one of the world’s leading experts on Islamist and extremist groups in Indonesia, Sidney Jones. From 2002 to 2013, Sidney worked with the International Crisis Group, first as Southeast Asia project director, then from 2007 as senior adviser to the Asia program.