Please join us online on 28 June 2023, for an engaging discussion, on the emergence of the Indo Pacific and the strategic partnership between India and New Zealand.
In collaboration with our partner in India, Ananta Aspen Centre, we have the privilege of hosting a dynamic exchange between our distinguished panellists and moderator, who will discuss the geopolitical landscape of the Indo Pacific from India and New Zealand’s perspectives.
Free Online Event
Charting the Geopolitical Landscape of the Indo Pacific: NZ - India Forum
Wednesday 28 June
6:45 pm to 8:00 pm NZT
(12:15pm to 1:30pm IST)
With Moderator
Sir Anand Satyanand, Former Governor General of New Zealand
and Panellists
David Pine, New Zealand High Commissioner to India
Indrani Bagchi, CEO Ananta Aspen Centre, former Assoc. Editor Times of India
Dr Jagannath P. Panda, Head of the Stockholm Center for South Asian and Indo-Pacific Affairs
Opening remarks
Christine Maiden Sharp, CEO Aspen Institute New Zealand
Since the late 2000s, the term Indo Pacific has taken centre stage in discussions around geopolitical dynamics, encompassing a vast region stretching from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific. This term has evolved into a strategic concept, often associated with a unified, US-led effort to counter China's growing regional influence.
In recent years, the tension surrounding the Indo Pacific has been further heightened by China's efforts to assert its dominance over Taiwan and Taiwan's growing alignment with the US. As these developments unfold, the Indo Pacific has become a flashpoint for global power struggles, with implications extending far beyond the region. India is a critical player in the Indo Pacific and has been actively working towards building partnerships with other countries in the region. New Zealand, as a much smaller nation also plays an important role in the region, although it has been argued, is missing out on some key opportunities with its Indo Pacific neighbours, due to its dependence on China, its largest trading partner.
Our inaugural forum will explore New Zealand and India's respective Indo Pacific policies, identify key areas of mutual interest and examine opportunities for collaboration.
Sir Anand Satyanand is a New Zealander with family links to Fiji and India. A lawyer, judge and ombudsman during a professional career, he served as New Zealand’s 19th Governor-General from 2006 until 2011. Since then he has worked internationally with the Commonwealth (chairing the Commonwealth Foundation in London for two terms) and with Transparency International. Locally he has been a board member of the Asia New Zealand Foundation and remains an Honorary Adviser. He is currently the Chancellor of the University of Waikato which has campuses in Hamilton and Tauranga, and is Patron of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs.
David Pine is New Zealand’s High Commissioner to India. He is also Ambassador to Nepal and High Commissioner to Bangladesh. An experienced diplomat, David was NZ’s High Commissioner to Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam from 2011 until 2014. He had previously served in New York, Canberra, Kuala Lumpur and as Ambassador to the Philippines (2006-2008). In Wellington, he held a number of policy roles, including as the Director of MFAT’s Economic Division. Outside of his Diplomatic career, David worked as a private advisor for a range of companies and individuals including ASEAN Advisory, KYS Aventura, San Miguel Corporation, Christchurch City Council, the University of Otago and the International Rugby Academy of New Zealand (IRANZ), as well as to the New Zealand Government.
Indrani Bagchi is the Chief Executive Officer of Ananta Aspen Centre. She was Associate Editor with the Times of India, reporting and analysing the newspaper's foreign policy issues from 2004 until 2022. As Diplomatic Editor, Indrani covered the Ministry of External Affairs on her news beat and interpreted and analyzed global trends with an Indian perspective. Earlier, Indrani worked with India Today, a premier news magazine, The Economic Times and The Statesman.
Dr. Jagannath Panda is the Head of the Stockholm Center for South Asian and Indo-Pacific Affairs (SCSA-IPA). He is also the Editor for ISDP. In addition to his primary appointment at ISDP, Dr Panda is the Director for Europe-Asia Research Cooperation at the Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies (YCAPS); and a Senior Fellow at The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS), The Netherlands. He is the Series Editor for Routledge Studies on Think Asia, and also the Editorial Board Member of the Journal of Asian Public Policy (JAPP: Routledge).
Dr Panda is the author of several books. His recent work includes Quad Plus and Indo-Pacific (Routledge: 2021); Scaling India-Japan Cooperation in Indo-Pacific and Beyond 2025 (KW Publishing Ltd. 2019), and The Korean Peninsula and Indo-Pacific Power Politics: Status Security at Stake (Routledge, 2020), India-Japan-ASEAN Triangularity (Routledge: 2022), and the Future of Korean Peninsula: Korea 2032 and Beyond (Routledge: 2021).
Register below to receive more information and a link to join the online dialogue.