This week Mike hosts Jude for a final goodbye episode to get Jude's synopsis of the China watching fields ability to understand China, what they have rightly predicted, what has been missed, Beijing's politics, and many other topics discussed in previous episodes.

This week Mike and Jude are joined by Aaron Connelly, Asia diplomatic editor and senior Asia correspondent at The Economist, where he writes about geopolitics and security across Asia. They discuss his recent Adelphi Series book New Answers to Old Questions: Myanmar Before and After the 2021 Coup D’État.

This week Mike and Jude are joined by Rick Waters, managing director of Eurasia Group's China practice. Rick previously served as the US State Department's top China policy official, overseeing the creation of the Office of China Coordination, informally known as the China House, and concurrently serving as deputy assistant secretary of state for China and Taiwan.

This week Mike and Jude are joined by David Capie, Director of the Centre for Strategic Studies and Professor of International Relations at the Victoria University of Wellington. They discuss New Zealand’s transitioning approach to its regional relationships.

This week Mike is joined by Elina Noor, Senior Fellow for the Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. They discuss Malaysia’s approach to geopolitics and outlook for the future.

This week Mike and Jude are joined by joined by Robert D. Blackwill, Henry A. Kissinger Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), and senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Richard Fontaine, Chief Executive Officer of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). They discuss their new book Lost Decade: The US Pivot to Asia and the Rise of Chinese Power (June 2024, Oxford University Press).

This week Mike and Jude are joined by join Lt. General Stephen Sklenka, USMC, Deputy Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. They discuss deterrence and the current state of play in the Indo-Pacific region.

This week Mike and Jude are joined by Benedetta Berti, Director of Policy Planning in the Office of the Secretary General at NATO, whose areas of expertise include human security, internal conflict, integration of armed groups, post-conflict stabilization, and peacebuilding among others. They discuss NATO’s developing perspectives on the Indo-Pacific region.

This week Mike and Jude are joined by Kathrin Hille to discuss Taiwan after the inauguration of Taiwanese President Lai, and what it means for the United States. Kathrine Hille is the Greater China Correspondent at the Financial Times, where she covers Taiwan, regional security, and hardware technology.  

This week, Mike and Jude meet with Andrew Oros to discuss demographic shifts in Asia and how those shifts affect the geostrategic balance in the region. Andrew Oros is Professor of Political Science and International Studies, and the Director of the International Studies Program at Washington College. 

This week, Mike and Jude meet with Amb. Julie Chung to discuss geopolitical competition in Sri Lanka and how it has developed in recent years. Ambassador Chung is the current U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and is a career member of the foreign service, having previously held senior positions throughout the Indo-Pacific and Western Hemisphere. 

This week, Mike and Jude discuss the recent presidential legislative elections in Taiwan with Richard Bush, Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and the former chairman and managing director of the American Institute in Taiwan.

Mike and Jude are joined by Demetri Sevastopulo, US-China Correspondent at the Financial Times. Demetri discusses covering China as a member of the news media and of what it takes to break news on China in a competitive market. Jude, Mike, and Demetri then exchange views on US-China relations today, including recent bilateral diplomacy and evolving cross-Strait dynamics. Next, they turn to debate on the US-China relationship in Washington, exploring the nature and bounds of...

Mike is joined by Lisa Curtis, Senior Fellow and Director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. The conversation begins with a review of the contemporary and historical factors encouraging India and the United States to expand their partnership. Next, they examined the remaining hurdles for the relationship, including the recent Sikh assassination plots. They conclude by discussing the perception of democratic backsliding in India and the role of...

Mike is joined by Dr. John Kunkel, Senior Economics Adviser at the United States Studies Centre. Dr. Kunkel has worked as an economist, speech writer, policy analyst, and adviser to government and industry executive and previously served as Chief of Staff to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. He has a PhD in Economics from the Australian National University and is the author of "America's Trade Policy Towards Japan: Demanding Results", a study of US-Japan trade relations from Reagan to...

Mike is joined by Dr. Joseph Chinyong Liow, the Tan Kah Kee Chair of Comparative and International Politics at Nanyang Technological University, where he is also a Research Advisor for the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.  The conversation begins with a review of the state of U.S.-China strategic competition in the aftermath of APEC 2023, and underscores regional discontent with the perceived lack of commitment from the United States to economic ties and international trade in...

Mike and Jude are joined by Evan Medeiros, Penner Family Chair in Asian Studies and the Cling Family Senior Fellow in US-China Relations at Georgetown University. He is also a Senior Advisor with The Asia Group and previously served for six years on the staff of the National Security Council as Director for China, Taiwan and Mongolia - and then as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Asia. He is editor and contributing author to the recent book Cold Rivals: The New Era...

Mike and Jude are joined by Sergey Radchenko, the Wilson E. Schmidt Distinguished Professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Sergey is an accomplished author, and has written extensively on the Cold War, nuclear history, and on Russian and Chinese foreign and security policies.  The conversation begins by delving into the nature of Beijing’s ties with Moscow, and how they have evolved from the Cold War. They explore points of divergence in the interests of China...

Mike and Jude are joined by Huong Le Thu, Deputy Director of the Asia Program at the International Crisis Group. She is also an Adjunct Fellow with the Southeast Asia Program at CSIS and a former senior fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. Her research on Vietnam’s defense and foreign policy, Southeast Asia’s security, ASEAN regionalism, and China-Southeast Asia relations has featured in a wide range of publications.  The conversation begins with an overview of Vietnam’s...

This week, Mike and Jude are joined by Mr. Tatsuya Terazawa, Chairman and CEO of the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan. Previously he served as the Senior Advisor of the Cabinet Office of Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura. Earlier he served at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan where he held leading positions including the Vice-Minister for International Affairs. He is also the Senior Specially Appointed Professor at the Tokyo University of Science, where he teaches...

This week, Mike and Jude are joined by Erin Murphy, Deputy Director and Senior Fellow for the Economics Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where she is currently transitioning to the Asia Program. Erin's career has so far spanned public and private sector roles, including as an analyst on Asian political and foreign policy issues at the Central Intelligence Agency, director for the Indo-Pacific at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, and...

This week, Mike and Jude are joined by C. Raja Mohan, Senior Fellow with the Asia Society Policy Institute in Delhi and Visiting Research Professor and former Director of the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) at the National University of Singapore. Mohan was the founding director of Carnegie India in Delhi – the sixth international center of Carnegie Endowment for Peace, and has previously served on India’s National Security Advisory Board.   They begin by examining India’s strategic...

This week, Mike and Jude are joined by Thomas Parks, Country Representative for Thailand with The Asia Foundation and author of the recently published book Southeast Asia’s Multipolar Future: Averting a New Cold War. They begin with an overview of Southeast Asia’s experience during and following the Cold War and discuss the region’s desire to avoid a re-division into blocs. They explore how regional states are seeking to preserve strategic ambiguity in their international relations and...

This week, Mike and Jude are joined by Mr. Choi Shing Kwok, Director & Chief Executive Officer of the ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute, and head of the ASEAN Studies Centre and Singapore APEC Study Centre, to discuss ASEAN perspectives on issues in the Indo-Pacific.  The conversation first examines ASEAN’s current structure, organizational challenges, and the diversity of its individual members. They then discuss ASEAN’s relationships and interaction with other regional players, including...