The Meridian100 Podcast

‘History will judge us harshly’

War with China is a small but not negligible risk, says former Defence mandarin Mike Pezzullo. But Australia wasted more than a decade in preparing and equipping itself to face the danger

A generals catastrophe

Myanmar’s generals have broken the state, says Nicholas Coppel – in 3 years they’ve caused civil war, economic collapse, a transnational crime wave and millions of internal refugees. China always preferred Aung San Suu Kyi and is even unhappier now

Hamas: buried, not dead

What’s left of Hamas is dug in beneath ruined Gaza. But Israel can’t obliterate their influence on Gaza's future, bleak as that might be, says Rodger Shanahan

The Man in the Room

Obama administration intelligence insider Robert Cardillo on China, North Korea, the Middle East and the night Osama bin Laden was killed

Against the Wolf Warriors

Shingo Yamagami confronted China’s Wolf Warrior diplomats. Denounced by Beijing, controversial in Canberra and even Tokyo, he’d do it all over again

Aid: who pays, who benefits

Alexandre Dayant, whose team tracked $298bn of development aid flows into Southeast Asia, describes the region’s needs and its financiers’ expectations. China is key ...

Timor-Leste’s Sunrise future

Xanana Gusmao, likely Timor-Leste’s last leader from the ‘1975 generation’ that won freedom, is driven to harness his tiny nation’s future to Greater Sunrise gas. Michael Leach explains why it’s a critical mission

China, the US ... and Trump?

China is now a peer competitor to the US in the Asia-Pacific and aspires to be a global rival, influencing international and regional structures, says Dennis Richardson. What global powers need from each other and what other nations need from them is consistency and predictability. That’s why a second Trump presidency would risk stability in the Asia-Pacific and damage to American interests in the region
 
An Australian foreign service diplomat by training, Dennis Richardson also served in the departments of Immigration and Prime Minister and Cabinet. He was chief-of-staff to prime minister Bob Hawke (1990-91), director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (1996-2005), Washington ambassador (2005-2010), head of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2010-2012) and head of the Defence Department (2012-2017)

Thai conservatives not done yet

Move Forward Party was the surprise winner of Thailand’s May 14 election, moving quickly to a coalition with Pheu Thai, the other main pro-democracy, anti-military party. Thai politics expert Punchada Sirivunnabood explains why Move Forward faces high hurdles to forming a government, let alone realising its policies. Problems begin with the Senate opposed to lese majeste law reform, abolishing conscription, rewriting the constitution, allowing same-sex marriage. Then there’s the army ...
 
Punchada Sirivunnabood is an associate professor at Mahidol University in Thailand who researches and publishes on political parties, elections and politics in Southeast Asia. She has consulted to Thai parliamentary committees and is a visiting fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore

ASEAN’s Myanmar nightmare

Myanmar’s army coup in February 2021 has unleashed destructive forces the junta can’t control – a civil war, thousands of civilians killed, more than 1 million internal refugees. ASEAN governments are deeply divided and apparently unable to influence the regime. Charles Santiago, of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, says the army has “gone berserk” against civilians in disputed areas, sanctioned by junta leaders. He argues ASEAN’s best chance now of salvaging Myanmar is persuading China to take the lead as peacemaker.
 
Charles Santiago is chairman and co-founder of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights and a member of the international parliamentary inquiry into global responses to the Myanmar crisis commissioned by APHR. He was a Democratic Action Party MP in the Malaysian parliament for 15 years until late 2022.