Hugh White: Indonesia and Australia in the Asian Century - Vice-Chancellor's Lecture Series

Professor Hugh White gives this lecture entitled 'A great power on our doorstep: Indonesia and Australia in the Asian Century' at The Australian National University on 21 May 2012. This lecture forms part of the ANU Vice-Chancellor's Public Lecture Series.

Abstract:

Last year Indonesia's economy overtook Australia's, and within a few decades it might well be numbered among the world's richest and strongest countries -- a real great power. And yet we in Australia still see our largest neighbour as poor and weak. While much attention rightly focuses on Australia choices about how we deal with China as its power grows, we have hardy begun to recognise, let alone debate, how we will deal with Indonesia if and when it becomes wealthy and strong. Nothing in our dealings with Indonesia since Suharto fell almost 15 years ago has helped prepare for this eventuality. We need to start seeing Indonesia in a new light, and that means looking at ourselves in a new light too. This will not be easy.

Hugh White is Professor of Strategic Studies at the Australian National University and a Visiting Fellow at the Lowy Institute for International Policy. He studies Australian strategic and defence policy, and the regional and global issues that most directly affect it. He has worked in this field for over 30 years in several different roles, including as an intelligence analyst, journalist, ministerial adviser, departmental official, think tanker and academic. He was the principal author of Australia's 2000 Defence White Paper. His recent publications include Power Shift: Australia's Future between Washington and Beijing published as Quarterly Essay 39 in September 2010. In the 1970s he studied philosophy at Melbourne and Oxford Universities.