Views from Down Underer
Analysis, news commentary, and opinions on the international relations of the Indo-Pacific and beyond as seen from the region by people from the region. An initiative of the Institute for Indo-Pacific Affairs (www.indopac.nz) in Christchurch, New Zealand, the podcast is hosted by Professor Alex Tan of the University of Canterbury (Christchurch, New Zealand) with panelists Dr Juhn Chris Espia of the University of the Philippines Visayas, Associate Professor Nick Khoo of the University of Otago (Dunedin, New Zealand), Dr Orson Tan and Neel Vanvari of the Institute for Indo-Pacific Affairs.
Episodes

18 hours ago
18 hours ago
China's FM had a meeting with EU counterpart to discuss outstanding issues on bilateral relations. A Philippine documentary "Food Delivery" on the South China Sea has received attention such that there are active lobbying by Chinese diplomats to not show the documentary. There is still continuing fallout from the leaked call of the Thai PM with former Cambodian PM. Thai PM is suspended pending investigation while calls for her resignation gets louder.

Monday Jun 23, 2025
Monday Jun 23, 2025
US bombed Iran's nuclear facility about a week after Israel attacked Iran. Why did the US attack now? Will their be a fallout from this decision? Is there a risk of a widening regional conflict? Thailand's border conflict with Cambodia has a new twist. A private phone conversation between the Thai PM and Cambodia's ex-strongman leader Hun Sen was leaked and led to calls for resignation of the PM.

Monday Jun 16, 2025
Monday Jun 16, 2025
Israel attacked Iran to decapitate its nuclear program and Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks. Will this turn into a regional war? NZ PM will visit Beijing, with lots going on domestically and internationally what are some of their likely talking points? Pentagon has decided to review the AUKUS arrangements catching Australia by surprise and also ahead of an upcoming visit by the Australian PM to the US. US Army celebrated its 250th anniversary with a military parade which are rare in the US.

Monday Jun 09, 2025
Monday Jun 09, 2025
South Korean liberal politician Lee Jae-myung won the presidency. With Korean society so polarised is this a 'poisoned chalice.' Trump administration in a spat with California threatened to cut federal funding, in turn California governor Gavin Newsom threatened to not turn over California's federal taxes. What is this spat all about? Thailand and Cambodia are having a dispute over part of its shared border. The militaries of both countries have been mobilised. What does this mean for the concept of ASEAN as a security community?

Tuesday Jun 03, 2025
Tuesday Jun 03, 2025
Shangrila Dialogue was held in Singapore last week. French president Macron spoke of the importance of Europe to engage Asia. US defense secretary Hegseth warns about hedging and implores regional states to spend at least 5% on their defense. Interestingly, China did not send their defense minister instead an academic delegation from their defense university.

Monday May 26, 2025
Monday May 26, 2025
US naval ship visits New Zealand after PLA Navy ships showed up in the Tasman Sea several months ago. With NZ planning to increase defense spending does this mean a closer defense relationship between the two countries since the breakup of ANZUS in the late 1980s? Philippine midterm elections shows the strength of political dynasties in the Philippines and the seeming weakness of Philippine political institutions. Is this a sign of poor institutional design? Wall Street Journal reports that US is planning to reduce the number of soldiers based in South Korea and Singapore warns foreign embassies not to interfere in domestic affairs.

Monday May 12, 2025
Monday May 12, 2025
Prominent international relations scholar, Joseph Nye, passes away. We chat about his contribution to the study of international relations. Catholic Church has a new pope and the first born in the US. Asia's demand for US dollar is waning, what does it mean and what are likely implications? US is upping intelligence gathering on Greenland and Danish government protests this action.

Monday May 05, 2025
Monday May 05, 2025
The general elections of Canada, Australia, and Singapore returned incumbents and shows voters are voting for stability and steady hands at this time of global uncertainty.

Tuesday Apr 29, 2025
Tuesday Apr 29, 2025
NZ FM gave a speech at the East-West Center in Honolulu titled "Enduring Pacific Partnerships" that talks about the importance of NZ relations with US especially in the context of Pacific partnerships. Trump and Zelensky met just before the funeral mass of Pope Francis where Trump noted that Russia may not be serious about ending the war with Ukraine. Lastly, the caution and warning about foreign influence in the upcoming Singapore general elections.

Monday Apr 21, 2025
Monday Apr 21, 2025
The new State of Southeast Asia Survey is out and provides a snapshot of public opinions from SEA about all things that concern the region. Here is a link to the survey: https://www.iseas.edu.sg/centres/asean-studies-centre/state-of-southeast-asia-survey/the-state-of-southeast-asia-2025-survey-report/

Views from Down Underer
Kwentuhan/Talakayan -- Tagalog words for 'telling a story' and 'discussion' -- describe what our podcast is all about. We are a barkada (group) of political science and international relations geeks based in New Zealand that analyses, comments, and discusses global and regional affairs. As scholars, we bring our academic expertise to help listeners make sense of the news we all watch, read, and listen. Being born and raised in the region, we bring our unique backgrounds to bear to provide perspectives of and from down underer (P.S. It is not a typo. New Zealand is further south of Australia -- the land down under).

About Us
Alex Tan (host) is professor of political science and international relations at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, honorary professor of the NZDF Command and Staff College, university chair professor of political science at National Chengchi University in Taipei, Taiwan. He holds a PhD in political science from Texas A&M University.
Nick Khoo (panelist) is associate professor of international relations at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand and received his PhD in political science from Columbia University.
Juhn Chris Espia (panelist) is assistant professor of political science at the University of the Philippines at Visayas. He holds a PhD in political science and international relations from the University of Canterbury.
Orson Tan (panelist) is senior research fellow at the Institute for Indo-Pacific Affairs. He holds a PhD in political science and international relations from the University of Canterbury.
Neel Vanvari (panelist) is research fellow at the Institute for Indo-Pacific Affairs. He is a PhD candidate in political science from the University of Canterbury.