China and the Indo-Pacific: Policies and Global Implications

Why has the Indo-Pacific become the pre-eminent theatre of global geo-strategic and geo-economic competition? What is the interest and role of different actors such as China, Russia, the US, the EU and NATO in the region? How are small island developing states such as the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, and Vanuatu affected by challenges in the new security environment?

In this episode, Professor Marina Svensson talks to Professor Anne-Marie Brady about her research on China’s strategic thinking and economic and political influence in the Indo-Pacific, with a particular focus on the small island states. The need for collaboration among like-minded partners in the region and other actors such as the EU is also addressed. This episode was produced and edited by Lisa Sihvonen and Tabita Rosendal.

Anne-Marie Brady is a professor of political science and international relations at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. Professor Brady is a specialist on Chinese politics, polar politics, China-Pacific politics, and New Zealand foreign policy. She is founding and executive editor of The Polar Journal. She has published ten books and over fifty academic papers and also written op eds for the New York Times, The Guardian, The Australian, Sydney Morning Herald, The Financial Times, among others.

Further readings:

Anne-Marie Brady’s work on the indo-pacific:

https://www.aspi.org.au/report/when-china-knocks-door-new-caledonia

https://thediplomat.com/2024/06/facing-up-to-chinas-hybrid-warfare-in-the-pacific/

https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/new-caledonia-crisis-a-turning-point-in-pacific-security/

https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/china-in-the-pacific-from-friendship-to-strategically-placed-ports-and-airfields/

The EU strategy: https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/eu-indo-pacific-strategy_en

On NATO strategy: https://www.cfr.org/blog/natos-indo-pacific-aspirations

This podcast was produced as part of EUVIP: The EU in the Volatile Indo-Pacific Region, a project funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe coordination and support action 10107906 (HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-03).

The Nordic Asia Podcast is a collaboration sharing expertise on Asia across the Nordic region, brought to you by the following academic partners:

· Asia Centre, University of Tartu (Estonia)

· Asian studies, University of Helsinki (Finland)

· Centre for Asian Studies, Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania)

· Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University (Sweden)

· Centre for East Asian Studies, University of Turku (Finland)

· Norwegian Network for Asian Studies