Asia Pacific Week 2012

Panellists:

Dr Stewart Firth, Visiting Fellow in the State, Society & Governance in Melanesia Program.

Dr Sinclair Dinnen is a Senior Fellow in the State, Society & Governance in Melanesia Program, and has served as an advisor to both Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

Sue Ingram is currently a PhD candidate in the State, Society & Governance in Melanesia Program, previously working with the Australian government, the UN in East Timor, and other organizations.

Jone Baledrokadroka is currently a PhD candidate in the State, Society & Governance in Melanesia Program, after serving in the Fijian army for 25 years.

Description:

This session will look at the issue of effective state building. “Building effective states” has long been one of the most pressing issues in international relations, and it will continue to be a central theme throughout the ‘Asian Century’. Panellists will explore these issues of state building with reference to the island states that make up the supposed “arc of instability” to Australia’s North East. The aim will be to challenge simplistic generalisations about these states that prevail in the media and popular commentary. In order for this, it will be necessary to touch on the history, diversity and complexity that exist in this region, with specific focus on the island states of Timor L’este, Solomon Islands, Bougainville and Fiji.

Time: Monday 9 July, 2:00 – 5:00 PM (including hiatus for afternoon tea and breakout sessions)
Audience: APW Delegates
Venue: Molonglo Theatre, JG Crawford Building #132, ANU

Panellists:

Associate Professor Brendan Taylor, head of Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, ANU-MacArthur Asia Security Initiative Focus Group leader, and Associate Investigator at the Australian Research Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security.

Professor Hugh White, Visiting Fellow at the Lowy Institute for International Policy, former head of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, former Senior Adviser to Defence Minister and Prime Minister, former Deputy Secretary for Strategy, Department of Defence and former Director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

Dr John Blaxland writes about military history, intelligence and security and Asia-Pacific affairs. He holds a PhD in War Studies and is a graduate of the Royal Thai Army Command and Staff College (Class 75, dux of foreign students) and the Royal Military College, Duntroon (top arts graduate, 1986). Prior to moving to the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre he spent nearly 30 years in the Australian Army. His earlier career included service as a Signals Corps troop commander and as an instructor at the Royal Military College, Duntroon.

Description:

When the Cold War ended prominent commentators optimistically proclaimed that the ‘end of history’ had arrived and that international conflict would become obsolete. Yet the Cold War never really ended in the Asia-Pacific. Its legacy is still apparent in the US-led bilateral network of security alliances and the persistence of dangerous flashpoints on the Korean Peninsula and across the Taiwan Strait. Historical tensions have also become more strategically important, including between China and Japan, and India and China. Most significantly, the Asia-Pacific power structure is in flux, as new powers such as China and India have risen and are challenging US primacy in the region. When combined, these factors will have serious consequences for the security of the Asia-Pacific region, and possibly the world. With these issues in mind, this panel of leading experts from the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre will consider the strategic consequences of the changing power structure of the Asia-Pacific region.

Time: Tuesday 10 July, 9:00 – 11:00 PM
Audience: APW Delegates
Venue: Molonglo Theatre, JG Crawford Building #132, ANU

Panellists:

Dr Roald Maliangkaij, focused on Korean cultural policy and industries, previously of University of Amsterdam and University of Leiden before coming to ANU School of Culture, History and Language.

Professor Andrew Walker Deputy Dean for College of Asia and the Pacific, Senior Fellow in the Department of Political & Social Change, and a co-founder of the Southeast Asia Blog New Mandala.

Dr Johanna Hood is a postdoctoral fellow in the Australian Centre on China in the World, ANU. Sinpeng Aim is an APW delegate and PhD candidate from the University of British Columbia.

Description:

What do we make of the contemporary media in Asia? This panel looks at case studies that have captured the attention of media outlets and through popular culture in Indonesia, South Korea, Thailand and China. After the presentations, we will brainstorm with the audience: Can we identify certain trends of in all of these cases? Are all societies really looking for sensationalism and scandal from their media? Or is there an argument for a distinct national media in these example - do they stand alone as distinctively 'Indonesian', 'Korean', 'Thai' or 'Chinese'? Panel presentation will be 20 minutes each, followed by 40 minutes of Q&A and discussion.

Time: Tuesday 10 July, 1:30 -5:00 PM (including afternoon tea and breakout sessions)
Audience: APW Delegates
Venue: Molonglo Theatre, Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU

Team Europe:

Dr Ben Wellings, Convenor of European Studies in the College of Arts and Social Sciences, ANU.

Pablo Jimenez Lobeira, PhD candidate at the Centre for European Studies, ANU.

Brody Warren, Contemporary Europe Learning Community.

Description:

The College of Arts and Social Sciences Great Debate will take a light hearted approach to whether the 21st Century belongs to Asia. Many of the questions from throughout the week will be discussed, but this time with wit, satire, sarcasm, and a bar. The affirmative Team Asia and the negative Team Europe will be headed by charismatic ANU academics Dr Nicholas Farrelly and Dr Benjamin Wellings, respectively. Team members will consist of ANU students and Asia Pacific Week delegates. The focus will be on entertainment as well as sound and convincing arguments. Audience members will be able to share their own views via a live Twitter feed.

Delegates will attend a private dinner from 5:00PM at University House. Following dinner delegates will move to the Great Hall for the beginning of The CASS Debate at 7:00PM. The CASS Debate will be open to the public. Drinks will be available at The Debate to purchase at delegates’ own cost.

Time: Tuesday 10 July, 5:00 PM – late
Audience: Dinner at University house from 5:00 PM for delegates. The Debate is open to the public, beginning it the Great Hall at 7:00 PM.
Venue: The Great Hall, University House, ANU

Description:

Does Australian aid have a future in the Asian century? Australia's aid program has traditionally been focused on the Asia-Pacific region. But Asia has grown and continues to grow rapidly. Its need for aid is declining, and indeed several Asian countries are becoming aid donors themselves. And yet Australia is expanding its own aid budget rapidly. In what many describe as the 'Asian century,'' what role is there for Australian aid? Should Australia continue to support Asia with aid? Or direct its aid elsewhere? Or cut rather than expand the aid budget? Notable academics Professors Hugh White and Steven Howes will debate these questions and more.

Description:

This session introduces Asia Pacific Week participants to a wargame simulation exercise. Wargaming is a methodology that has been employed for several decades at the highest levels of government and in the corporate world. The aim is to as closely mimic the key strategic questions and challenges that would need to be confronted in a real life situation. The Strategic and Defence Studies Centre periodically runs wargame exercises as a teaching tool in the classroom.

In this wargame, Asia Pacific Week participants will be invited to play the role of senior policymakers as they respond to a major strategic crisis. Military tacticians and political advisors will lead the delegates through a simulation of a plausible war scenario taking place in the unstable Korean Peninsula. Such a crisis would be a game changer for the existing Asia Pacific security order, fundamentally changing the regional dynamics and priorities. Of particular importance would be the implications for the rising tensions between the US and China. Could this be managed effectively to avoid triggering Sino-American conflict? What role could other regional players fill to mitigate such a crisis? Delegates will split into teams to take on roles such as North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan, and the United States among others.

Time: Wednesday 11 July, 2:00-5:00 PM (including afternoon tea)
Audience: APW Delegates
Venue: Canberry and Springbank Rooms, JG Crawford Building #132, ANU

Panellists:

Dr Nicholas Farrelly, Research Fellow in the School of International, Political and Strategic Studies, ANU, and co-founder of the Southeast Asia Blog New Mandala.

Dr Shiro Armstrong, Research Fellow in the Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU, Editor of the East Asia Forum and Program Manager at the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research.

Dr Joanne Wallis, Convener of the Bachelor of Asia-Pacific Security, Strategic & Defence Studies Centre, ANU.

Dr Assa Doron, Research Fellow in the School of Culture, History and Language, ANU.

TBA

Description:

In the penultimate panel of Asia Pacific Week 2012, delegates will join prominent Australian broadcaster Paul Barclay who will moderate a panel featuring some of ANU’s top academics. Participants will discuss questions pertaining to the Asia Pacific region and Australia’s place within it. This session will be filmed by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation to be featured on Big Ideas. Delegates and the audience will have an opportunity to pose questions to the panel of their own.

Time: Thursday 12 July, 12:00 – 2:00 PM
Audience: APW Delegates and public
Venue: Molonglo Theatre, JG Crawford Building #132, ANU

Panellists:

Paul Belesky is an APW delegate and PhD candidate from the University of Queensland.

Erica Bramlet is an APW delegate and undergraduate from Indiana University.

Om Prasad Gautam is an APW delegate and PhD candidate from the London School of Hygiene and T.M.

Phuong Hao Phan is an APW delegate and Masters candidate from the National University of Singapore.

Ginger Turner is an APW delegate and PhD candidate from the University of Oxford.

Description:

In the final session of APW 2012, some of the delegates combine their research and expertise to give a panel to their fellow delegates. The focus will be on the various aspects of non-traditional security and how they are being challenged in this rapidly evolving region. Of particular importance will be how to protect human rights, lives, and livelihoods in a region facing security, legal, and environmental crises. This open panel will give delegates the opportunity to consider many of the issues discussed throughout the week with particular focus on what they mean for the individuals of the region.

Time: Thursday 12 July, 2:30 – 4:00 PM
Audience: APW Delegates
Venue: Molonglo Theatre, JG Crawford Building #132, ANU