Open lecture with Professor Anne-Marie Brady, University of Canterbury

This lecture is organized in cooperation with the Graduate School in Asian Studies 

NATO’s 2022 Strategic Concept emphasised the importance of the Indo-Pacific for Allied security and the need for collaboration with like-minded partners in the region. The Indo-Pacific is now the pre-eminent theatre of global geo-strategic and geo-economic competition. China and Russia’s foreign interference, cyber-attacks, and disinformation are undermining the strategic set up in the Indo-Pacific, they weaken already fragile political systems, accentuate social and political divides, and help undermine trust in the rules-based international order. 

The last two years have been the most challenging in global history since the end of the Cold War, and the strategic outlook is grim. A series of events is putting intense pressure on the multilateral rules-based order. To name just a few of these new challenges: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, supported by China, North Korea, and Iran; China’s aggressive actions in the Taiwan Strait, South China Sea, and East China Sea; China’s growing military and intelligence presence in the Indo-Pacific via dual-use facilities; the weaponisation of disinformation by Russian and China; the Israel-Palestine conflict; Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and the impact on supply chains; radical terrorist acts on a global scale; the ongoing refugee crisis; ever-increasing cyber-attacks from state and non-state actors; and the growing impact of climate change. Small island developing states in the Indo-Pacific such as the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, Vanuatu, the Maldives and Mauritius, and Caribbean states such as Antigua and Barbuda, are directly affected by these challenges in the new security environment. Each has limited resources to protect itself, yet as history has shown, the weakness of small states in a time of rising security threats can undermine the security of larger powers; each must find their own way to manage relations between the dominant powers, while protecting their national interests. This talk discusses China’s strategic thinking, strategic tactics, and implications for Indo-Pacific security. 

Bio: Professor Anne-Marie Brady's groundbreaking, policy-relevant, research demonstrates the important role of the academic as "critic and conscience" in a modern democracy. Professor Brady is a specialist of Chinese politics (domestic politics and foreign policy), polar politics, China-Pacific politics, and New Zealand foreign policy. She is a fluent Mandarin Chinese speaker. She is founding and executive editor of The Polar Journal (Taylor and Francis Publishers). She has published ten books and over fifty scholarly papers. She has written op eds for the New York Times, The Guardian, The Australian, Sydney Morning Herald, The Financial Times, among others.