
Blind Spot
Southeast Asia and Australia's Future; Quarterly Essay 101
Michael Wesley(Author)
Quarterly Essay (Publisher)
Published on 16. March 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
126 pages
978-1-76064-579-3 (ISBN)
Description
Australia has forgotten what keeps it safe. So argues Michael Wesley in this sharp and compelling essay about our place in the world.Southeast Asia is the key to our national security and prosperity. If China dominates the region, as it plans to, Australia will be very vulnerable. So why are we following an American strategy that isolates and alienates us from our neighbours?Wesley argues that the focus on AUKUS and sticking with Trump is a dangerous distraction. Whereas the United States has little at stake in Southeast Asia, Australia has everything to lose. How did our foreign policy elite become so wedded to the US worldview? What do our Southeast Asian neighbours have to tell us, if only we would listen? Blind Spot is a gripping essay about strategic folly and the future of our region.
"It should be clear that Australia has made the wrong bet: that relying on the US alliance to address the threat of a Chinese-centred Sphere of Deference on its northern doorstep has left it dangerously exposed and unprepared. If anything, Canberra's adherence to the US strategy has led to an increasing divergence of interests and perceptions between Australia and its neighbours. As a consequence, Australia is arguably at an all-time low in its ability to shape events and attitudes in Southeast Asia."-Michael Wesley, Blind Spot
More details
Series
Language
English
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 167 mm
Thickness: 9 mm
Weight
317 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-76064-579-3 (9781760645793)
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
03/2026
Schwartz Books Pty. Ltd.
€17.99
Available for download
Person
Michael Wesley is deputy vice-chancellor global, culture and engagement at the University of Melbourne and was formerly dean of ANU's College of Asia and the Pacific. His previous books include Restless Continent: Wealth, Rivalry and Asia's New Geopolitics and There Goes the Neighbourhood: Australia and the Rise of Asia. His latest book is Mind of the Nation.