On 5 December 2023, Senior Analyst Dr. Greg Brown, provided a Keynote Address at the 2023 Indo-Pacific Strategy Forum (ISPF) in Ottawa—the largest and most comprehensive Indo-Pacific conference in Canada on defence and trade engagement in the region.

The Institute for Peace & Diplomacy (IPD) and the Canada West Foundation (CWF) co-hosted two-days of ISPF panels and presentations featuring nearly 40 expert speakers from Canada and the Indo-Pacific region.

Occurring a year after the Government of Canada launched its Indo-Pacific Strategy, the 2023 conference was a timely platform for evaluating the progress of the strategy’s implementation, exploring Canada’s broader engagement with the region, and understanding how this engagement is perceived within the Indo-Pacific.

Dr. Brown’s address: A Perspective from Australia: Navigating Relations with China and the U.S. in the Indo-Pacific, outlined Australia’s forefoot foreign policy and its possible lessons for strengthening Ottawa’s relations and influence in Washington.