As regional instability grows and global events remind us of the reality of war and importance of maintaining peace, John is joined by Peter Jennings for an in-depth conversation about Australia's strategic and security outlook. Peter suggests that the Russian and Chinese perspective that "the West is in terminal decline" has been thoroughly repudiated by the Western response to the war in Ukraine. They discuss the possible dangers of the security pact signed by China and the Solomon Islands, and consider how Australia should prepare its defence force to counter future threats. Peter Jennings is the executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), a position he has held since May 2012. ASPI is Australia’s leading national security think tank. He has worked in senior roles in the Australian Public Service on defence and national security. He was Deputy Secretary for Strategy in the Defence Department (2009-12); Chief of Staff to the Minister for Defence (1996-98) and Senior Adviser for Strategic Policy to the Prime Minister (2002-03). Peter has previously held several Senior Executive Service positions in Defence including First Assistant Secretary International Policy and First Assistant Secretary Coordination and Public Affairs, Deputy Director of the Defence Imagery and Geospatial Organisation and head of the Strategic Policy Branch. In 1999 Peter ran Defence’s East Timor Policy Unit, developing policy for the stabilisation operation in East Timor. #china #war #security #ukraine -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Conversations feature John Anderson, former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, interviewing the world's foremost thought leaders about today's pressing social, cultural and political issues. John believes proper, robust dialogue is necessary if we are to maintain our social strength and cohesion. As he puts it; "You cannot get good public policy out of a bad public debate." If you value this discussion and want to see more like it, make sure you subscribe to the channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtnYSEGViOnb7k8ezUaWUww?sub_confirmation=1 And stay right up to date with all the conversations by subscribing to the newsletter here: https://johnanderson.net.au/contact/ Follow John on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnAndersonAO Follow John on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnandersonao/ Support the channel: https://johnanderson.net.au/support/ Website: https://johnanderson.net.au/ Podcast: https://johnanderson.net.au/podcasts/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow ASPI on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ASPI_org Follow ASPI on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/australian-strategic-policy-institute/ Follow ASPI on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ASPI.org