michael wesley
in-conversation with
Misha Ketchell, Editor,
the conversation

Australia has forgotten what keeps it safe.

So argues foreign policy analyst and commentator Professor Michael Wesley in his sharp and compelling Quarterly Essay: Blind Spot, Southeast Asia and Australia's Future, which he will discuss with Misha Ketchell, Editor of The Conversation.

In this conversation, Michael outlines how Southeast Asia is the key to Australia's national security and prosperity. If China were to dominate the region - as he argues it intends to -  Australia will be profoundly vulnerable. So why are we aligning ourselves with an American strategy that risks alienating us from our closest neighbours?

Wesley contends that an intense focus on AUKUS and unwavering commitment to the US alliance may be a dangerous distraction. Whereas the United States has little at stake in Southeast Asia, Australia has everything to lose. How did our foreign policy elite become so wedded to the US worldview? What do our Southeast Asian neighbours have to tell us, if only we would listen? Blind Spot is a gripping essay about strategic folly and the future of our region.

It should be clear that Australia has made the wrong bet: that relying on the US alliance to address the threat of a Chinese-centred Sphere of Deference on its northern doorstep has left it dangerously exposed and unprepared. The nation is arguably at an all-time low in its ability to shape events and attitudes in Southeast Asia.
Michael Wesley, Blind Spot 

Imprints Booksellers will be selling copies of Michael Wesley's Quarterly Essay: Blind Spot, Southeast Asia and Australia's Future in the Auditorium foyer on the night of the event.

Presented by The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre 

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