Australians love a holiday in Southeast Asia. But our proximity to this region also makes it key to our national security and prosperity. Yet Australia has hitched its security and foreign policy wagon to an increasingly unpredictable United States, while China asserts in dominance in our own backyard. So are we taking Southeast Asia for granted? This conversation was recorded at Readings Bookshop on 23 March 2026. Speakers Michael Wesley Professor of International Relations and Deputy Vice Chancellor, Global Culture and Engagement, University of Melbourne Former head of the Lowy Institute, former dean of ANU's College of Asia and the Pacific Author, Blind spot: Southeast Asia and Australia's Future (Quarterly Essay # 101) and more Geoff Raby Former Australian diplomat to China 2007 — 2011 Author, Great Game On: The Contest for Central Asia and Global Supremacy and more