Note: This event will take place on 7/28 at 10:30 AM UTC+8.

With the presidential elections only several months away, attention is turning to the prospect of a Democratic White House under Joe Biden and what that might mean for U.S. foreign policy in the region.

On the one hand, there is a bipartisan consensus that China is the greatest and most comprehensive external challenge facing the U.S. and a growing acceptance that confronting and countering aspects of Chinese behavior is necessary. On the other hand, every new president and administration will always herald in significant changes in external policy.

The talk will offer some insight into what will remain the same and what will be different when it comes to the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific,” or whatever moniker a Biden presidency might employ for the Indo-Pacific region when it comes to strategy, practice, mindset, and expectations of partners in Southeast Asia. For example, what will be the Democratic version of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy and its approach to China and institutions such as ASEAN and the Quad?

The speaker, John Lee, is a Senior Fellow at Hudson Institute. He is also a Senior Fellow (non-resident) at the United States Studies Centre and Adjunct Professor at the University of Sydney. From 2016 to 2018, he was Senior National Security Adviser to Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. In this role, he served as the Principal Adviser on Asia and for economic, strategic, and political affairs in the Indo-Pacific region. Dr. Lee was also appointed the Foreign Minister’s Lead Adviser on the 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper, the first comprehensive foreign affairs blueprint for Australia since 2003 and written to guide Australia’s external engagement for the next ten years and beyond.

For more information and to register for the Zoom webinar, click here.