Gordon Flake

Great to see @perthusasia.bsky.social Associate Research Fellow Aaron Magunna in Brisbane yesterday. Delighted to release his most recent report on the future of Australia Japan Energy Partnership in advance of our 9th Annual Japan Symposium tomorrow: perthusasia.edu.au/research-and...

Horizons Interview | Gordon Flake: The Asia-Pacific Century: Ready to Go - Australian viewpoint YouTube video by CIRSD

www.youtube.com/watch?v=znQ-...
www.diplomacyandcommerce.rs/the-world-is...
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More interesting snorkelling and camping pictures to come.

Horizons Interview | Gordon Flake: The Asia-Pacific Century: Ready to Go - Australian viewpoint YouTube video by CIRSD

I have been off socials for two glorious months of holiday filled with family, swimming, camping, grandchildren, and summer in Perth. As a way of dipping my toes back into the world, I am attaching a few of my musings about the world from my flurry of travel late last year: 1/2

Why Should We Care if South Korea Finally Has a New President? | with Gordon Flake YouTube video by Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific?

A bit late in sharing this, but was recently honoured to join the "Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific?" Podcast for a yarn. Why Should We Care if South Korea Finally Has a New President? | with Go... youtu.be/FP4e-YTZzcE?...

[여의도포럼] 한국과 호주, 새로운 발전 모색할 때 6·25전쟁 참전해 도왔던 호주산업화의 핵심 파트너로 기여이제는 단순 협력모델 벗어나글로벌 공급망 공유하는 단계중국 편중 리스크 분산하고방산기업 공동

Very insigthful article by former KIEP President Dr. Kim Heungchong outlining the solid present and essential future of Australia-Korea Cooperation.
[여의도포럼] 한국과 호주, 새로운 발전 모색할 때 www.kmib.co.kr/article/view...

Five years is a long time in Australia-India relations, but there is still more to do A stocktake of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

What have Australia and India achieved since concluding the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership deal in 2020? Lisa Singh and I take a look... www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpre...

Asia a clear focus of Trump’s tariffs—for many they’re swingeing, for some they’re brutal, eg Vietnam 46%. Difficult to think of a policy that wld have been better calibrated to drive swathes of the region closer into China’s orbit. US strategic position in Asia is now significantly weaker. FT chart

It was an honour to meet the Republic of Korea's Ambassador to Australia, His Excellency Admiral (Retd) Seungseob Sim, who generously hosted the Australia-Korea Foundation Board at his Residence in Canberra last week.

@japarker29.bsky.social Rockstar!

To counter China’s coercion of Taiwan, we must track it better | The Strategist The threat of a Chinese military invasion of Taiwan dominates global discussion about the Taiwan Strait. Far less attention is paid to what is already happening—Beijing is slowly squeezing Taiwan into...

'Chinese President Xi Jinping’s approach is clear: he’d rather pressure Taiwan into submission over time than launch an all-out invasion,' writes @nathanattrill.bsky.social.

Honoured to be appointed to serve on the Australia-Korea Foundation Board and look forward to working toward an even stronger Australia-Korea relationship. www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/pen...

We are delighted to announce that CEO Professor @lgflake.bsky.social has been appointed as a new Board Member of the Australia-Korea Foundation (AKF). 🇦🇺🇰🇷

📄 Media release from Senator the Hon Penny Wong here: www.foreignminister.gov.au/minister/pen...

The world may be on fire, but mangoes still ripen in thier own time. Today was the day for these three from a tree my dear wife grew from seed.

It has been just over a week since I was honoured to speak at the Munich Security Conference on a APRI Armenia-ORF organized panel on "Minilateralism and Multilateralism: the Shift from Global Alliances to Targeted Partnerships." It is hard to overstate how much has changed in that week. #MSC2025

"There were"

What was that JD Vance speech at Munich all about?

Chinese-style Wolf Warrior Diplomacy, says Prof. Gordon Flake, designed to please the MAGA base by insulting allies overseas.

My latest yarn for The Nightly: https://latika.me/JDWolfWarrior

Worse

Excellent panel at #MSC2025. No one better than @PerthUSAsia Board Member Dr. Lynn Kuok to moderate a discussion with Korean and Japanese Foreign Ministers, New Zealand Defence Minister & Deputy SecGen of NATO. The Indo-Pacific has interest in the Euro-Atlantic and vice versa

📝 This piece dives into China’s growing presence in the furthest reaches of the Indian Ocean, and identifies practical ways Australia and India can work together.

🔗 Published in a compendium of works by Australia India Institute, you can now read here >> perthusasia.edu.au/research-ins...

ICC president condemns U.S. order enabling sanctions on staff The order allows the U.S. government to impose sanctions such as an asset freeze and a travel ban on ICC staff and their families.

I visited the Nuremberg Courthouse today where the Trial of Nazi leaders marked the birth of international criminal law. Stark contrast to ICC President Tomoko Akane from Japan today condemning Trump's executive order authorizing sanctions on ICC staff.
www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/02...

The winners we must pick | The Strategist In a modestly noted announcement in Western Australia in early December, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Resources Minister Madeleine King announced the addition of $475 million in government loan...

Clarion call from Kim Beazley on Australia's role in rare earth supply chains
www.aspistrategist.org.au/the-winners-...

If the next US government normalises the idea of absorbing territory by force - even if this is justified as some sort of lunatic diplomatic gambit - it makes it more likely that China will believe that the US will ultimately stand aside during an invasion of Taiwan.

We are fortunate to have @myhlee.bsky.social on the ground providing reporting and analysis of this ongoing and deepening trend.

Then there was the pro-Yoon rally the day before the impeachment where the chant was "구속 구속" the Korean version of "Lock Him Up" applied to a list of political opponents.

Saw early hints of this during an October visit when I was still blissfully (and wrongfully)confident in the U.S. election outcome.

This from the @washingtonpost.com on how the Biden administration reached its decision on Nippon Steel-US Steel is so dismaying if not surprising.

www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

the Asahi New Year look at our disturbed world:
"The United States today is no longer able to single-handedly protect the global order, and gone now is the American middle class that supported the nation’s prosperity back then."
www.asahi.com/ajw/articles...

The very first thing Biden should have done was abolish all the bad Trump tariffs on our allies (& re-entered TPP)

The (almost) very last thing he should have done is not do this very dumb CFIUS thing

He got awful economic & geopolitical advice. I’ll never understand it.

bsky.app/profile/mcop...

My thoughts on Joe Biden and his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad U.S. Steel decision…

www.aei.org/foreign-and-...