Bec Strating FAIIA is the Director of the La Trobe Centre for Global Security and a Professor of International Relations at La Trobe University, Melbourne. She is the Australian Member Committee Co-Chair of the Council on Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific and serves as an Australian representative in the Expert and Eminent Persons Grouping in the ASEAN Regional Forum. Bec’s research focuses primarily on Asian regional security, maritime disputes, and Australian foreign and defence policy. Her publications includes ‘Girt by Sea: reimagining Australia’s Security’ with Professor Joanne Wallis (La Trobe University Press/Black Inc, 2024), which was launched by Foreign Minister Penny Wong in April 2024. Bec currently leads the DFAT-funded “Blue Security” network focused on maritime security issues in the Indo-Pacific. She is currently a non-resident fellow at National Bureau of Asian Research, an expert affiliate at the Australian National University’s National Security College, and Chair of the Women in International Security-Australia’s advisory board. Bec received her PhD from Monash University in 2013 and was the Director of La Trobe Asia from 2020 until 2025.