John Blaxland is Professor of International Security and Intelligence Studies, and Director of the ANU North America Liaison Office in Washington DC. He was formerly Director of the ANU Southeast Asia Institute and Head of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre. A former military officer, John was also Australia’s Defence Attaché to Thailand and Myanmar and Chief of Joint Intelligence (J2) at HQ Joint Operations Command. His published works cover regional security, national security, cyber and intelligence, Australian military history, peacekeeping and contemporary international security relations ranging across the Indo-Pacific, and notably including Timor L’este, Thailand, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Iraq, Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Canada, the USA, the South Pacific and parts of the Middle East. John holds a Phd in War Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada, MA in History from The Australian National University and BA from UNSW. His latest book (with Clare Birgin), 'Revealing Secrets: An Unofficial History of Australian Signals Intelligence and the Advent of Cyber' (UNSW Press, 2023).