What’s life like on a US Navy submarine? Do submariners listen to Lauryn Hill? What kind of whiskey do they drink?
In Sea Control: Asia-Pacific’s first podcast for 2016, Natalie Sambhi, Analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, interviews the very cool dudes from Diver Tough, a weekly podcast series by former US Navy submariners and Navy divers Walter Lyon and Josh Toth. Walt and JT tell us about Diver Tough before sharing their thoughts on #submarinerlife and the best music to listen to underwater, the end of combat exclusion for women, Navy SEALs and female submariners, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and action heroes, and lastly, their favourite scotch and whiskey picks.
Coming to you from Washington DC, Natalie Sambhi, Analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute interviews Phuong Nguyen, Associate Fellow with the Southeast Asia Chair, Center for Strategic and International Studies on Vietnam’s evolving foreign policy and strategic posture. Natalie and Phuong discuss the 2014 Haiyang Shiyou 981 oil-rig incident between Vietnam and China and the complex ties between both countries, Vietnam’s new strategy in resolving maritime disputes, the limits of expanding security cooperation with the United States, and the increasingly salient role of the Association of Southeast Asian nations. Phuong also highlights major developments in Southeast Asia to look out for in 2016.
Dr Tim Huxley, Executive Director of IISS-Asia and author of Defending the Lion City: the armed forces of Singapore, joins Natalie Sambhi, President of Australian Institute of International Affairs ACT and Analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, to discuss how Southeast Asia’s most technologically advanced yet modestly sized militaries, Singapore, is coping with some of the strategic shifts in the Asia Pacific and the growing tensions over the South China Sea. They discuss the key pillars and drivers of Singapore’s foreign and defence policy, its defence relationships with the US, China, Australia and the rest of Southeast Asia, and which maritime capabilities it should be developing.
Our cadre of hosts: Matthew Hipple, Natalie Sahmbi, Alex Clarke – and now Matthew Merighi, discuss everything – from China to personal life. This is an update or sorts, or an introduction, for those who haven’t been with us from the beginning, or those who want to know what comes next.
