Perth USAsia Centre

Perth USAsia Centre CEO Professor Gordon Flake spoke with ABC News about President Donald Trump’s decision to scale back US participation in joint military drills with South Korea.

Watch on ABC iview: https://iview.abc.net.au/video/NU2623H163S00

"Over the thirty, almost 40 years that the US and South Korea have been doing joint exercises on the peninsula they have ebbed and flowed depending on the situation."

Professor Gordon Flake, CEO of the Perth USAsia Centre, spoke with SBS News on President Trump’s decision to substantially scale down joint US–South Korea military drills.

What does this mean for the US–ROK alliance, deterrence on the Korean Peninsula and the wider Indo-Pacific?

Watch the full commentary: https://bit.ly/4hG3lD0

"Where Japan has traditionally been a consumer of WA resources, it is increasingly becoming a partner in developing the industries and supply chains that will shape our future." - Centre CEO Professor Gordon Flake in Business News: https://bit.ly/4hFFao6

From trade to strategic partnership: Western Australia’s role in the next 50 years of Australia-Japan relations Few international relationships have been as important to the development of Western Australia’s economy as its relationship with Japan. In the years immediately following the end of World War

Western Australia’s geopolitical importance is changing.

Our latest Indo-Pacific Analysis Brief, by Andrew Pickford and Ronin Lilley, explores what WA’s evolving role means for the state and the wider Indo-Pacific.
Read the brief: https://bit.ly/4wHPwsa

After the booms come the storms: Western Australia in an era of rapid geopolitical change - Perth USAsia Centre Indo-Pacific Analysis Brief Vol 64 After the booms come the storms: Western Australia in an era of rapid geopolitical change August 2026By Andrew Pickford, Senior Research Adviser: Resources and Infrastructure, & Ronin Lilley, Research Assistant. This paper reframes Western Australia’s outlook by ...

Although electrification will reduce fuel demand, it will not eliminate the need for liquid fuels altogether.

Instead, it will concentrate demand into a smaller group of sectors where alternatives remain fundamentally limited, including aviation, maritime, defence, and portions of heavy industry.

While fossil fuels continue to be vulnerable to global conflict and supply chain shocks, renewable fuels, like Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), offer a more resilient model of energy security, as they draw on continually replenished feedstocks, rather than finite, geographically concentrated reserves.

In 'The Regenerative Advantage: Sustainable Aviation Fuel and the New Power Geography of the Indo-Pacific' Daniel Bloch explores how renewable fuels could strengthen energy resilience, create new economic opportunities, and give Australia a new source of strategic influence in the region.

Read op-ed here:

The regenerative advantage: Sustainable Aviation Fuel and the new power geography of the Indo-Pacific - Perth USAsia Centre The regenerative advantage: Sustainable Aviation Fuel and the new power geography of the Indo-Pacific In a world where strategic advantage has historically flowed from the control of finite resources, the future may belong to those capable of continually regenerating them. Daniel BlochDirector, Stra...

What does the next chapter of Australia–Japan relations look like?
Perth USAsia Centre CEO Professor L. Gordon Flake will moderate a special conversation with Stephen Smith at Nikkei Asia Forum Sydney 2026 on 26 August.

A timely discussion as Australia and Japan look to the next 50 years of partnership.
https://nikkeiforum.com/syd/26/

Will Australia help shape the future of AI, or just keep up with it?

That's the big question in AI in Australia's Interests: Answering the Call, asked by Centre Senior Research Fellow, Jisoo Kim, and Aaron Brown, Research candidate. Australia has a real chance to lead—but only if we invest in AI skills, support research, build public trust, and work together across government, education and industry.

AI will affect how we work, learn and solve problems for years to come. The choices we make now will help decide what that future looks like.

Read more: https://bit.ly/3TzpAAv

AI in Australia's interests: Answering the call - Perth USAsia Centre AI in Australia’s interests: Answering the call The hour of Australian AI ingenuity is no longer relegated to a distant future. It is here, and now time to accelerate. Jisoo KimSenior Research Fellow: AI and Emerging Technologies,Perth USAsia Centre Aaron BrownResearch candidate, Queensland Univer...

We are delighted to welcome Paul Myler to the Perth USAsia Centre Board of Directors.

Paul brings a wealth of experience across diplomacy, international trade, national security and geopolitical strategy. As Founder and Managing Director of StratQ, and through his distinguished career with the Australian Government—including serving as Australia's Deputy Chief of Mission in Washington DC and Ambassador to Russia—Paul has developed deep expertise in the Indo-Pacific and Australia's strategic relationships.

His insights into geopolitical risk, national resilience and the Australia–US alliance will be a tremendous asset to the Centre as we continue to strengthen engagement across the Indo-Pacific.

Read more: https://perthusasia.edu.au/paul-myler/

What comes after the boom?

"Rather than banking on the next boom, WA must build the capabilities needed to remain globally competitive, in an era defined by disruption and strategic competition."

In our latest Indo-Pacific Analysis Brief, by Andrew Pickford, Centre Senior Research Adviser, and Ronin Lilley, examines how growing geopolitical change is reshaping Western Australia's economic future. The report argues that investing in the fundamentals—reliable energy, strong infrastructure, skilled workers, and resilient supply chains—will be key to building long-term resilience.

Read the full report: https://bit.ly/4wHPwsa

"The Perth USAsia Centre was pleased to deepen our partnership with the Association of Independent Schools WA by co-hosting a roundtable discussion with remarks by Sarah Stanton-French a Senior Global Engagement Manager for International Education at AusTrade with a group of leading school principals and other key stakeholders of AISWA.

It is clear that a volatile and changing international environment not only impacts Australia’s university sector, but also impacts secondary schools. It is also clear that despite a shared educational mandate, but interests and business model of schools are not always the same as those at universities and require a separate strategy." - Professor Gordon Flake, Centre CEO.