October 21, 2026, 9:01 am
The international order sags and shifts and splinters in sorry ways. Australia’s National Defence Strategy predicts the coming decade will be defined "by fracture, rivalry and disorder."
Our era demands constant hedging and ad hoc fixes. We are in a time of ordering rather than order.
Asia’s future comes down to a simple yet fiendish equation—the difference between choice and no choice. What can Asian states negotiate and create for themselves, versus what will be imposed or unavoidable or just accidental?
Using the Xi-Trump summit in Beijing and the Asian defence summit, the Shangri-La dialogue, Canberra journalist Graeme Dobell will discuss Asia’s many moving pieces: China’s wins in creating a G2 with the United States; the US turn back to discussing its role in "the Pacific," discarding the Indo-Pacific strategy; Japan’s step-up as a normal power, driven by uncertainty about the US and China’s power; and ASEAN set of compounding conundrums, ranging from trade to fading strategic trust.
Content Creator – Australian Institute of International Affairs
