Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Dr David Brewster is a Senior Research Fellow with the National Security College, Australian National University where he works on Indian Ocean and Indo Pacific maritime security.
He is also a Distinguished Research Fellow with the Australia India Institute, University of Melbourne.
He is a frequent speaker at international security conferences throughout the region and is as an Australian delegate to several major 1.5 Track security and defence dialogues.
Dr Brewster is a frequent writer about security developments in the Indian Ocean and Indo Pacific for numerous publications.
Dr Brewster’s books include India as an Asia Pacific power, about India’s strategic role in the Asia Pacific and India’s Ocean: the story of India’s bid for regional leadership which examines India’s strategic ambitions in the Indian Ocean.
His latest edited volume is India and China at Sea: Competition for Naval Dominance in the Indian Ocean, which addresses Indian and Chinese perspectives about their roles in the Indian Ocean and their evolving naval strategies towards each other.
He contributed a chapter to Strategic Asia 2019 titled The Red Flag Follows Trade: China’s Future as an Indian Ocean Power. Dr Brewster is also the author of a major new report, Australia’s Second Sea: Facing our Multipolar Future in the Indian Ocean, which proposes a new roadmap for Australia’s strategic engagement in the Indian Ocean.
Research interests
Indian Ocean security
India's security and defence relationships
Indo-Pacific maritime security
Qualifications
Researcher's projects
Dr Brewster is currently engaged in the following projects:
1. Indian Ocean security: This project looks at the future strategic order of the Indian Ocean, with particular focus on the roles of India and China.
3. Australia in the Indian Ocean. This project will examine the development of Australia’s strategic role in the Indian Ocean from Imperial to contemporary times. It will focus on the competing imperatives faced by Australia in supporting its alliance partners, especially in the Middle East, taking an active role in the security of Southeast Asia, as well as addressing its own continental security.
Expertise Areas
- Defence Studies
- Government and Politics of Asia and the Pacific
- International Relations
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Network (past 5 years)
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MDA Needs Analysis
Brewster, D. & Bashfield, S.
Commonwealth Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)
7/04/23 → 30/06/25
Project: Research
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Australia-India-UK 1.5 track Policy Options Paper
Brewster, D., Kamath, B. R., Medcalf, R. & Saha, P.
Commonwealth Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)
13/06/22 → 30/06/22
Project: Research
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Risk Mapping In The Indian Ocean
Bergin, A. & Brewster, D.
Commonwealth Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)
18/05/18 → 17/05/19
Project: Research
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Sasakawa Quadripartite Commission on the Indian Ocean Regional Security
1/11/16 → 30/04/17
Project: Research
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Protecting China's interests overseas: Securitization and foreign policy
Brewster, D., 2022, In: Journal of Strategic Studies. 46, 2, p. 494-495Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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Indian Ocean Strategic Futures: Re-examining Assumptions of Capability and Intent
Tarapore, A. & Brewster, D., 2021, In: Asia Policy. 16, 3, p. 2-17Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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The South Asia Stability-Instability Paradox Under the Nuclear Shadow
Brewster, D., 2021, In: National Security Journal. 3, 4, p. 1-8Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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China-India and Maritime Security: A Contest for Power and Influence in the Indian Ocean
Brewster, D., 2020, Routledge Handbook of China-India Relations. Kanti Bajpai, Selina Ho and Manjari Chatterjee Miller (ed.). 1st ed. Oxon: Routledge, p. 252-288Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
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Geo-Environmental Security Challenges in the Indian Ocean Region: A Gulf Agenda
Brewster, D., 2020, The Arab Gulf’s Pivot to Asia: From Transactional to Strategic Partnerships. N. Janardhan (ed.). 1 ed. Germany: Gerlach Press, p. 133-145Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter