Bougainville Peace Agreement

Kevin Pullen presenting

Greetings from the Australian National University in Canberra, where Kevin Pullen is presenting an update of his research on the Bougainville Peace Agreement. This is an example of the valuable role universities play in soft power of a nation. A detailed knowledge of how a dispute in our region can be resolved peacefully is worth a fleet of warships.  Keven's work can inform efforts to defuse tension elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific.

I look forward to reading Kevin's thesis. The Bougainville story would make an exciting action movie, with the involvement of mercenaries with Russian helicopter gunships, a threatened coup, and many political machinations.

Australia is currently part of an arms race in the region, with nations acquiring submarines, aircraft carriers, missiles and drones. However another way to secure Peace is to help nations in our region to be stable and prosperous.