The National Security Podcast

In this episode of the National Security Podcast, ANU National Security College Senior Research Fellow Dr David Brewster and Ric Smith – former Australian Ambassador to China and Indonesia and Secretary of Defence – join Professor Rory Medcalf to explore what a deeper Australia-Bangladesh security relationship should look like.As part of its Indo-Pacific strategy, Australia needs to broaden its engagement in South Asia. For at least a decade, Australia has rightly concentrated on its partnership with India, but it is now time to broaden that strategy to include other countries in that region. Bangladesh should be an important part of that new focus. With its thriving economy and a population of more than 160 million, it has the potential to become the next ‘Asian tiger’. In this episode of the National Security Podcast, Dr David Brewster and former Australian Ambassador to China and Indonesia Ric Smith join Professor Rory Medcalf to discuss why Australia should develop its defence and security relationship with Bangladesh as part of broader political and economic engagement. David has authored the College’s latest Policy Options Paper, New Indo-Pacific Partnership: Building Australia-Bangladesh Security Ties, and Ric is the author of a compelling working paper published by the ANU National Security College in 2016, Forgotten Friends: Australia, India and the Independence of Bangladesh.Dr David Brewster is Senior Research Fellow at the ANU National Security College. His research focuses on security in India and the Indian Ocean region, and Indo-Pacific maritime affairs.Richard C Smith AO PSM served in Australia’s diplomatic missions in India, Israel, the Philippines and Hawaii. He became Deputy Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 1992 and then Deputy Secretary of the Department of Defence in 1994. He served as Ambassador to China from 1996-2000 and as Ambassador to Indonesia in 2001-2002, before being appointed as Secretary of the Department of Defence in 2002.Professor Rory Medcalf is Head of the National Security College at The Australian National University. His professional background involves more than two decades of experience across diplomacy, intelligence analysis, think tanks, and journalism. We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or find us on Facebook. The National Security Podcast and Policy Forum Pod are available on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, and wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode of the National Security Podcast brings you an audiopaper from the Policy Options Paper series, the flagship publication of the ANU National Security College. Australia as a Space Power: Combining Civil, Defence, and Diplomatic Efforts is authored by Cassandra Steer – Senior Lecturer at the ANU College of Law and Mission Specialist at the ANU Institute for Space (InSpace).Space is a critical strategic domain for Australia’s civilian and military interests but is increasingly congested, contested and competitive. Major powers are engaged in a destabilising space arms race – China, Russia, and the United States have rejected the strategic restraint that kept space a stable political and military domain. As a ‘middle space power’, Australia has the capacity to encourage responsible behaviour in space.This episode of the National Security Podcast brings you an audiopaper from the Policy Options Paper series – the flagship publication of the ANU National Security College. Policy Options Papers offer short, evidence-based and forward-looking insights and recommendations for policymakers on topical national security issues facing Australia. Every paper in the series is informed by consultation, and reviewed by practitioner and academic experts. You can read this paper and others in the series on the National Security College website.Dr Cassandra Steer FHEA is a Senior Lecturer at the ANU College of Law and Mission Specialist at the ANU Institute for Space (InSpace).We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or find us on Facebook. The National Security Podcast and Policy Forum Pod are available on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, and wherever you get your podcasts.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the National Security Podcast, the latest in our Security Summit series, Tobias Feakin – Australia’s Ambassador for Cyber Affairs and Critical Technology – joins Professor Rory Medcalf to unpack the government’s recently-launched International Cyber and Critical Tech Engagement Strategy.Cyber and critical technology are at the centre of geostrategic competition in the 21st century and affect all aspects of international relations. They affect Australia’s national security, economic prosperity, the protection and realisation of human rights and freedoms, sustainable development, and international peace and stability. The new Strategy sets out the government’s goal for a peaceful, stable and prosperous Australia, Indo-Pacific region, and world and provides a framework to guide the whole-of-government international engagement across the broad spectrum of cyber and critical technology issues guided by three pillars: values, security, and prosperity. In this National Security Podcast, Australia’s Ambassador for Cyber Affairs and Critical Technology Tobias Feakin joins Professor Rory Medcalf to provide his insights into Australia's new International Cyber and Critical Tech Engagement Strategy.Dr Tobias Feakin is Australia’s inaugural Ambassador for Cyber Affairs and Critical Technology. He commenced as Ambassador for Cyber Affairs in January 2017, before having his mandate expanded to reflect the central role that technology issues have in geopolitics. Prior to his Ambassadorial appointment, Dr Feakin was the Director of National Security Programs at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute from 2012 to 2016 where he established the Institute’s International Cyber Policy Centre.Professor Rory Medcalf is Head of the National Security College at The Australian National University. His professional experience spans more than two decades across diplomacy, intelligence analysis, think tanks, and journalism.We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or find us on Facebook. The National Security Podcast and Policy Forum Pod are available on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, and wherever you get your podcasts.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode of the National Security Podcast brings you an audiopaper from the Policy Options Paper series — the flagship publication of the ANU National Security College. Protecting Education Exports: Minimising the damage of China’s future economic coercion is authored by Dirk van der Kley and Benjamin Herscovitch — Research Fellows at the ANU School of Regulation and Global Governance.Coercion against Australia’s education sector would significantly impact the country’s prosperity. Education is the nation’s only remaining export to China valued over $10 billion annually which is both reliant on China and which Beijing can target without significant self-harm. And unlike many industries currently subject to China’s economic coercion, education is job-intensive and closely linked to Australia’s technological competitiveness. The Australian Government has no mechanism to coordinate efforts to diversify education export markets or cohesively promote Australian education, rendering the sector more exposed to coercion.This episode of the National Security Podcast brings you an audiopaper from the Policy Options Paper series — the flagship publication of the ANU National Security College. Policy Options Papers offer short, evidence-based and forward-looking insights and recommendations for policymakers on topical national security issues facing Australia. Every paper in the series is informed by consultation, and reviewed by practitioner and academic experts. The paper is also available as a PDF.You can also check out the first-ever audiopaper from the ANU National Security College, Clever Country in a Changed World: Re-thinking Australian science policy by Paul Harris.Dirk van der Kley is a Research Fellow at the ANU School of Regulation and Global Governance and a Research Fellow at the ANU National Security College.Benjamin Herscovitch is a Research Fellow at the ANU School of Regulation and Global Governance.Tim Wilford is the Senior Communications and Marketing Officer at the ANU National Security College. We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or find us on Facebook. The National Security Podcast and Policy Forum Pod are available on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, and wherever you get your podcasts.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the National Security Podcast, Dirk van der Kley and Benjamin Herscovitch — Research Fellows at ANU School of Regulation and Global Governance — join Chris Farnham to discuss how Australia can protect its education exports from potential economic coercion from China.Coercion against Australia’s education sector would significantly impact the country’s prosperity. Education is Australia’s only remaining export to China valued at over $10 billion annually that the Chinese Government could target without significant self-harm. And, unlike many industries currently subject to China’s economic coercion, education is job-intensive and closely linked to Australia’s technological competitiveness. The Australian Government has no mechanism to co-ordinate efforts to diversify education export markets or cohesively promote Australian education – this makes the sector more exposed to coercion. In this episode of the National Security Podcast, researchers Dirk van der Kley and Benjamin Herscovitch outline how Australia can protect its education exports from potential economic coercion from China, which they have written about in the latest Policy Options Paper published by the ANU National Security College: Protecting Education Exports: Minimising the damage of China’s future economic coercion.Policy Options Papers are the flagship publication from the ANU National Security College and offer short, evidence-based and forward-looking insights and recommendations for policymakers on topical national security issues facing Australia. Every paper in the series is informed by consultation and reviewed by practitioner and academic experts. Dirk van der Kley is a Research Fellow at the ANU School of Regulation and Global Governance and a Research Fellow at the ANU National Security College.Benjamin Herscovitch is a Research Fellow at the ANU School of Regulation and Global Governance.Chris Farnham is the Senior Outreach and Policy Officer at the ANU National Security College. We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or find us on Facebook. The National Security Podcast and Policy Forum Pod are available on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, and wherever you get your podcasts.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the National Security Podcast, Paul Harris — Adjunct Fellow at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown University — joins Katherine Mansted to discuss the need to re-think how the Australian science system engages with the rest of the world and delivers value to the nation.The global science and technology system has undergone massive change since 2000 and is now a key site of geoeconomic competition between states. For the first time in Australia’s history, its most significant partner for science collaboration will be a country other than our principal ally, the United States. Australia’s successful model for science has relied upon uncommonly high levels of international engagement, but in this new world that model also brings new risks. There is a need to systematically re-think how the Australian science system engages with the rest of the world and delivers value to the nation.In this episode of the National Security Podcast, Paul Harris — Adjunct Fellow at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown University — joins Katherine Mansted to discuss this need, which he has written about in the latest Policy Options Paper published by the ANU National Security College, Clever Country in a Changed World: Re-Thinking Australian Science Policy. Policy Options Papers are the flagship publication from the ANU National Security College and offer short, evidence-based and forward-looking insights and recommendations for policymakers on topical national security issues facing Australia. Every paper in the series is informed by consultation and reviewed by practitioner and academic experts. This paper is available as an audiopaper and a PDF.Paul Harris is the Director of The Australian National University’s North American Liaison Office in Washington DC and an Adjunct Fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology.Katherine Mansted is a senior adviser at the ANU National Security College and non-resident fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Previously, she was a commercial solicitor with King & Wood Mallesons, a ministerial adviser to the federal government, and served as an Associate in the High Court of Australia.We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or find us on Facebook. The National Security Podcast and Policy Forum Pod are available on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, and wherever you get your podcasts.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode of the National Security Podcast brings you the first-ever audiopaper from the ANU National Security College’s flagship publication, the Policy Options Paper series. Clever Country in a Changed World: Re-Thinking Australian Science Policy is authored by Paul Harris — Adjunct Fellow at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown University — and is presented by Katherine Mansted, Series Editor and Senior Adviser for Public Policy at the ANU National Security College.The global science and technology system has undergone massive change since 2000 and is now a key site of geoeconomic competition between states. For the first time in Australia’s history, its most significant partner for science collaboration will be a country other than its principal ally, the United States. Australia’s successful model for science has relied upon uncommonly high levels of international engagement, but in this new world that model also brings new risks. There is a need to systematically re-think how the Australian science system engages with the rest of the world and delivers value to the nation. This episode of the National Security Podcast brings you the first-ever audiopaper from the ANU National Security College’s flagship publication, the Policy Options Paper series. Policy Options Papers are the flagship publication from the ANU National Security College and offer short, evidence-based and forward-looking insights and recommendations for policymakers on topical national security issues facing Australia. Every paper in the series is informed by consultation and reviewed by practitioner and academic experts. The paper is also available as a PDF.Paul Harris is the Director of The Australian National University’s North American Liaison Office in Washington DC and an Adjunct Fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology.Katherine Mansted is a senior adviser at the ANU National Security College and non-resident fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Previously, she was a commercial solicitor with King & Wood Mallesons, a ministerial adviser to the federal government, and served as an Associate in the High Court of Australia.We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or find us on Facebook. The National Security Podcast and Policy Forum Pod are available on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, and wherever you get your podcasts.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the National Security Podcast — part of our Security Summit Series — Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security Senator James Paterson chats to Head of the ANU National Security College Professor Rory Medcalf. The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) has become increasingly prominent in recent years. Its work is not only highly visible, but highly influential too — as so much policy and legislation now has a national security edge to it. In this episode of the National Security Podcast, Senator James Paterson shares a snapshot of the Committee he now chairs — what it is and what it does — with Head of the National Security College Professor Rory Medcalf. Their wide-ranging conversation spans Australia-China relations, countering foreign interference in Australian universities, sovereignty, bipartisanship and more.Senator James Paterson is Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, Deputy Chair of the Senate Select Committee on COVID-19 and Australian co-chair of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China. He was elected as a Senator for Victoria in 2016.Professor Rory Medcalf is Head of the National Security College at The Australian National University. His professional experience spans more than two decades across diplomacy, intelligence analysis, think tanks, and journalism.You might also be interested in the recent paper authored by Katherine Mansted, Senior Adviser for Public Policy at the ANU National Security College, The Domestic Security Grey Zone: Navigating the Space Between Foreign Influence and Foreign Interference.We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or find us on Facebook. The National Security Podcast and Policy Forum Pod are available on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, and wherever you get your podcasts.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of National Security Podcast, United States Chargé d’Affaires to Australia Mike Goldman joins Professor Rory Medcalf to discuss Australia’s bilateral relationship with the United States and the Biden Administration’s approach to the region.With a new administration in the White House, where should we expect continuity and discontinuity in America’s approach to its allies and the Indo-Pacific? In this episode of the National Security Podcast, and the second edition of Security Summit with Rory Medcalf, we speak to United States Chargé d’Affaires to Australia Mike Goldman on how the Biden Administration views the bilateral relationship, how the United States will respond to increasing Chinese attempts to coerce Australia, and how it is approaching the growing list of challenges to Indo-Pacific security.Mike Goldman is Chargé d’Affaires at the United States Embassy to Australia in Canberra and a career member of the Senior Foreign Service. Mike has been working in diplomacy since he joined the State Department in 2000, including on several postings throughout Asia.Professor Rory Medcalf is Head of the National Security College at The Australian National University. His professional background involves more than two decades of experience across diplomacy, intelligence analysis, think tanks, and journalism.Chris Farnham is the producer of the National Security Podcast. He joined the National Security College in June 2015 and is currently Senior Outreach and Policy Officer. After serving as a soldier in the Australian Army, Chris has worked in roles throughout East Asia with a focus on geopolitics and regional security.We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or find us on Facebook. The National Security Podcast and Policy Forum Pod are available on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, and wherever you get your podcasts.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of National Security Podcast, former CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence Carmen Medina and intelligence expert Zachery Tyson Brown join Katherine Mansted to discuss the modernisation of intelligence and the tension between secrecy and transparency.With the amount of information publicly available and the means to collect it increasing exponentially, intelligence agencies and their processes are at a moment of change. In this episode of the National Security Podcast, Katherine Mansted speaks with Carmen Medina and Zachery Tyson Brown on whether secrecy is still important or whether increased transparency is more suited to the information age, and asks who is the more important consumer of intelligence: the government, or the public it serves? Carmen Medina is a former Central Intelligence Agency Deputy Director of Intelligence with over 32 years of experience in the Intelligence Community and the author of Rebels at Work: A Handbook for Leading Change from Within.Zachery Tyson Brown is a National Security Fellow at the Truman National Security Project, a former intelligence specialist with the United States Army and Department of Defence and the founder of Consilient Strategies.Katherine Mansted is a senior adviser at the ANU National Security College and non-resident fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Previously, she was a commercial solicitor with King & Wood Mallesons, a ministerial adviser to the federal government, and served as an Associate in the High Court of Australia.Chris Farnham is the producer of the National Security Podcast. He joined the National Security College in June 2015 and is currently Senior Outreach and Policy Officer. After serving as a soldier in the Australian Army, Chris has worked in roles throughout East Asia with a focus on geopolitics and regional security. We’d love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes to podcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us @APPSPolicyForum or find us on Facebook. The National Security Podcast and Policy Forum Pod are available on Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher, and wherever you get your podcasts.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.