The strategic and military importance of Western Australia will be the subject of several events to be hosted by The University of Western Australia’s Defence and Security Institute, and supported by the United States Consulate Perth, next week.

WA’s Growing Strategic Importance: A Deep Dive into AUKUS and the Surface Fleet Review will examine how WA fits into AUKUS as well as the US, UK and Australian strategic thinking about the region.

Professor Gia Parish, Director of the Defence and Security Institute, said WA had grown in strategic and military importance over the past few years.

“The AUKUS announcement, along with the US Force Posture Initiative commitment and a bigger WA shipbuilding focus, has put HMAS Stirling and the Australian Marine Complex in Henderson in both the national and regional spotlight,” Professor Parish said.

Guest speakers at the public event include Dr Zack Cooper, a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC; Professor Alessio Patalano, an expert in War and Strategy in East Asia and Director of the King’s Japan Program at King’s College in London; Jennifer Parker, a defence analyst, writer and commentator with ANU; and Professor Peter Dean, Director of Foreign Policy and Defence at the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney.

Linda Dawson, Deputy Director General of Industry, Science and Innovation at the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation will moderate the panel discussion and the Honourable David Johnston will be Master of Ceremonies.

The event will be held at The University Club of Western Australia’s auditorium from 6.15pm to 8pm on Tuesday 25 June, followed by a networking reception.

There are two private roundtables, and a number of private briefings, that will be held on either side of the public event. Over the course of the two days of events, over 200 ADF, government, diplomatic, industry and academic visitors and colleagues will be attending UWA to hear about this important point in time for WA.

For more information and to register for the public event please click here.