David Brewster

Former Visiting Fellow, Maritime Studies

David Brewster is a former corporate lawyer, specialising in complex cross border acquisitions and financing. He is  former Gateway House Senior Australia Maritime Fellow. He has practised in Sydney, Washington D.C., New York, London and Paris. He completed his doctoral studies in Indian strategic affairs, from the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University, in 2010. He is currently writing a book on India as an Indian Ocean power. His research works focus on Indian strategic affairs, especially on India's strategic relationships throughout the Asia Pacific and Indian Ocean regions. His latest publications include ‘India as an Asia Pacific Power,’ ‘Operation Lal Dora: India’s aborted military intervention in Mauritius,’ ‘Asian Security, Vol.9, No.1 (2013), pp.1-12 (co-authored with Commodore Ranjit Rai),’ ‘India and Australia in Indo-Pacific Security,’ in Dennis Rumley (ed.), and ‘The Indian Ocean Region: Security, Stability and Sustainability in the 21st Century - Report of the Australia India Institute Task Force on Indian Ocean Security,’ pp.96-119. You can read his complete bio, here
Education

B.Ec (Sydney University), LLB Hons. (Sydney University), LLM (Columbia University), PhD (Australian National University)

Expertise

Indian Ocean Region, Maritime Studies, India-Australia

Last modified: November 23, 2017

Recent projects

australia-uranium-mine Courtesy: mining.com
4 September 2014 Gateway House

India-Australia nuclear deal: a pivot point

This week Prime Minister Modi will meet his Australian counterpart Tony Abbott for the second time in two months. New Delhi and Canberra have already signed a civil nuclear deal which will supply much needed uranium to India’s reactors and remove a big thorn in the relationship between the two nations. The deal is the pivot to take the bilateral forward
041005-N-0021M-001 Courtesy: U.S. Navy photo/Journalist 1st Class Todd Macdonald
29 July 2014 Gateway House

Malabar 2014: a good beginning

India’s invitation and the subsequent participation of the Japanese navy in the Malabar 2014 exercise is a sign of the deepening of the political-security relationship between India and Japan. However, an actual fruition of the potential requires both the administrations to be more flexible, especially on the nuclear deal and defence purchases
RIMPAC Courtesy: Seaman James R. Evans/Wikimedia Commons
14 April 2014 Gateway House

Australia’s submarine choice

Australia is the second largest naval power among the Indian Ocean states and its submarine fleet represents its principal strategic force. Australia will be replacing its fleet with some of the largest and most capable conventional submarines in the world. Its decisions could hold important lessons for India
milanspikecallusnavy Courtesy: Spike Call U.S Navy/Wikimedia Commons
21 February 2014 Gateway House

Shaping regional diplomacy

The Indian Navy, through multi-lateral exercises, is increasing its sphere of influence and becoming a regional force. Yet, it needs to be supported by policy decisions that enable it to achieve its potential as a state-of-the-art establishment and a powerful tool in India’s diplomatic repertoire
david2 Courtesy: Prachi Bidaye/Gateway House
12 February 2014 Gateway House

India-Australia: Deepening the bilateral

Gateway House interviews David Brewster, Visiting Fellow, Strategic & Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University, and Senior Visiting Fellow, Maritime Studies Programme, Gateway House, on his latest report, ‘The India-Australia Security Engagement: Opportunities and Challenges’
Ior arc meaindia Courtesy: Ministry of External Affairs, India
5 November 2013 Gateway House

India: Regional net security provider

In the coming years, India’s greatest strategic challenge in the Indian Ocean region may not be the development of power projection but the quality of the strategic relationships that it can build in the region. The extents to which India will be recognised as a regional leader depend on these relationships.
davidb Courtesy: Martyn Wright/Flickr
30 October 2013 Gateway House

The India-Australia security engagement: Opportunities and challenges

This edition of Policy Perspectives discusses how the two leading maritime powers among Indian Ocean states, India and Australia – which will take over from India as Chair of the IOR-ARC at its ongoing meeting in Perth – can consolidate a strategic partnership that spans the Indo-Pacific
smith antony aus def min Courtesy: Australian Government Department of Defence
7 June 2013 Gateway House

India-Australia: Aligning strategic spheres

Defence Minister A. K. Antony’s visit to Australia this week was a significant step forward in the defence relationship. In coming years an India-Australia partnership will be important for managing maritime security in the Indian Ocean and will also have implications for security in Southeast Asia and the Pacific