The Strauss Center welcomed Mr. James Brown, Military Fellow at the Lowy Institute, Dr. Prudence Flowers, Lecturer at Flinders University, and Mr. Marcus Lumb, Executive Officer at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.  Strauss Center Associate Director Celeste Gventer moderated the discussion that took place at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs.  

Much of the session focused on U.S. rhetoric surrounding the “pivot”¬ù and “rebalance”¬ù of U.S. security in Asia. Dr. Prudence Flowers described the rhetoric as simplistic and reminiscent of the Cold War. Asian countries and Australia do not want to make a decision between China or the U.S., but would prefer to continue relationships with both powers.

In particular, the terms used to describe U.S. security in the region conjured up images of policies of containment. All of the panelists and most of the audience agree that the terms were poorly defined, poorly delivered to the broader public, and were concerned with what is still an unrealized security threat.

Also prominent during the event was the discussion of increased military cooperation with Australia and the U.S., including the stationing of U.S. Marines in Darwin. The panelists felt it was mostly symbolic politics, but also noted that it will serve Australia well operationally as they look to become a stronger amphibious military force.

Returning to the discussion of “pivot”¬ù vs. “rebalance,”¬ù a question was asked if the U.S. is purposefully vague in language because it isn’t prepared to address the issues at hand. Marcus Lamb agree that open discussions on many of the security topics are long overdue, but with the caveat that the potential success of engaging in discussion is still unknown. Dr. Prudence Flowers agreed, questioning how real the pivot is, especially in terms of structural implementation.

Mr. James Brown is a former officer in the Australian Army, with service in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Solomon Islands. As the Military Fellow at the Lowy Institute, one of Australia’s foremost think tanks, his research focuses primarily on military issues and defense policy. He coordinates the MacArthur Foundation Asia Security Project, which seeks to explore security cooperation in Asia and promote measures to prevent Asia’s growing strategic rivalries from deepening into war. Mr. Brown also coordinates a project investigating the use of private military security companies in disaster and conflict zones. He is a regular contributor and commentator in a wide range of media.

At Flinders University, Dr. Prudence Flowers teaches all eras of American history, with broad research interests in politics, religion, gender, conservatism, and social movement activism, including a new research project looking at the factors influencing U.S. policy on global population issues. Dr. Flowers is also an Early Career Researcher at Flinders University’s new Centre for U.S. and Asia Policy Studies (CUSAPS). Among other projects, the Centre will be looking at the changing strategic relationships in Asia as it assesses the new U.S. policy of force rebalancing as well as the growth of defense spending and capabilities of major Asian powers including China, Japan, India, and Indonesia.

Mr. Marcus Lumb specialized primarily in Indonesian affairs while working at Australia’s premier intelligence agency, the Office of National Assessments. He continued this focus during subsequent duty at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), where he served in the Indonesia political section. Recently, his DFAT portfolio responsibilities have broadened to include Southeast Asia, with an emphasis on Burma, Laos and Cambodia.

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