Asia Capability Roundtable

23 October, 2025

Leading voices on Asia Capability, including Ross Garnaut AC and Peter Varghese AO, came together to declare that Asia Capability is facing an immediate crisis in Australia.
On 23 October, in partnership with Asialink, I convened a roundtable on the renewed case for Asia Capability in Australia.

Asia Capability underpins the effectiveness of all spheres of our national endeavour, including our statecraft, our industry and civil society.

They argued that Australia must act to save the institutions delivering our Asia Capabilities under immediate threat, while also committing to a long-term strategy to address the challenges of both supply and demand currently impeding the development of our Asia capability.

You can read my remarks here. 

‘Choose Asia’ Declaration

We, the attendees of the National Roundtable on Asia Capability, declare that:

The case for Asia Capability has never been stronger or more urgent.

Australia’s security and prosperity rely on our ability to make our own way in our region that is more dynamic, complex and consequential than ever before. Asia Capability underpins the effectiveness of all spheres of our national endeavour, including our statecraft, our industry and civil society.

While Asia Capability is a long-term strategic imperative, it has been in decline since the beginning of the 21st Century and faces an immediate crisis.

Deep and multidisciplinary knowledge of the languages, histories, cultures, economic, political and strategic drivers of our region, as well as sustained engagement with the region, is critical.  

 

Australia must:

  • recommit to a whole of nation effort to build Australia’s Asia Capabilities.

  • equip our leaders and institutions with the capabilities they need to navigate our path in a region rich in both opportunities and challenges.

  • act to save the institutions delivering our Asia Capabilities under immediate threat, while also committing to a long-term strategy to address the challenges of both supply and demand currently impeding the development of our Asia capability.

  • utilise Australia’s flourishing diaspora communities and adopt new technologies to build Asia Capability without expecting them to replace structured learning about our region.

 Building Australia’s Asia Capability begins with a choice to make this a national priority.

Signed,

  • The Hon Tim Watts MP, Special Envoy for Indian Ocean Affairs

  • Wesa Chau - Executive Director, Per Capita 

  • Melissa Crouch - Professor, University of New South Wales, and Past President of the Asian Studies Association of Australia

  • Ross Garnaut AC - Professor Emeritus, the University of Melbourne

  • Philipp Ivanov - CEO of GRASP, Former CEO of Asia Society Australia          

  • Martine Letts - CEO, Asialink

  • Edgar Myer - Asialink Advisory Council

  • Sid Myer AM - Former Chairman, Asialink 

  • Liam Prince - Director, ACICIS 

  • Lydia Santoso – National Vice President, Australia Indonesia Business Council

  • Warwick Smith AO - Chairman, Advisory Board – Australian Capital Equity

  • Peter Varghese AO - Chancellor, University of Queensland; Chair, Asialink

  • Michael Wesley - Deputy Vice Chancellor Global, Culture and Engagement, University of Melbourne

  • Penny Williams PSM - Former Australian Ambassador to Indonesia 

  • Hayley Winchcombe - Engagement Manager, Mandala

Participants have signed in their personal capacity.