Professor Bec Strating is the Director of La Trobe Asia and a Professor of International Relations at La Trobe University, Melbourne. Her research focuses on maritime disputes in Asia and Australian foreign and defence policy, and she has produced four books and numerous journal articles and book chapters. Her latest book ‘Girt by Sea: reimagining Australia’s Security’, co-written with Professor Joanne Wallis, will be released by La Trobe University Press/Black Inc in 2024. She is the recipient of numerous prizes and accolades, most recently the 2024 Bernard Brodie Prize for best article in the journal Contemporary Security Policy in 2023. 

Bec is the program lead for the DFAT-funded “Blue Security” network focused on maritime security issues in the Indo-Pacific. She is also currently a non-visiting fellow at the Royal Australian Navy’s Seapower Centre, a member of the East West Centre Council on Indo-Pacific Relations, and incoming chair of the Women in International Security Australia’s steering committee.

Bec Strating is an Expert Associate with the ANU National Security College.