On Tuesday 11 March, the Perth USAsia Centre hosted a foreign policy roundtable, with prominent members of the WA business, government and academic communities. During the event, CEO Professor Gordon Flake reflected on the Munich Security Conference where US Vice President, JD Vance shocked world leaders when he criticised Europe’s state of democracy and emphasised Trump as a ‘new sheriff in town.’
Professor Flake also reflected on the current state of geopolitics, which in 2025 has fundamentally changed following an historic year for elections across the world.
Professor Flake’s remarks were followed by a robust discussion which covered the Trump Administration’s approach to foreign policy, trade and economics and security, the US’ role in the stability of the global rules-based order, and what it all means for WA.
Meet the speaker
Professor Gordon Flake
Chief Executive Officer, Perth USAsia Centre
Gordon Flake has spent twenty-five years in the US foreign policy community focused on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia and now ten years in Australia’s Indian Ocean capital and is considered an expert on key strategic relationships in the broader Indo-Pacific. He has authored many scholarly and policy studies on security developments in the region, and their policy implications for the US and its regional partners. He is a Governor of the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia (AmCham) and serves on the board of the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. Prior to joining the Centre, he was the Executive Director of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, an Associate Director of the Program on Conflict Resolution at The Atlantic Council of the United States, and Director for Research and Academic Affairs at the Korea Economic Institute of America.
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Roundtables with the Perth USAsia Centre
This roundtable discussion is by invitation only to the Perth USAsia Centre network of senior leaders and industry experts.
Let us know if you would like to be considered for Perth USAsia Centre’s business events and networking opportunities. We’ll ensure you stay up to date with the latest news and updates on the Indo-Pacific region and provide access to an extensive collection of reports, articles and commentary.