Asian insight
Journalist and author, Bruce Maxwell has written a 700+ page memoir called China Media Australia Exotic Seas: A Recent History Of Us.
19 September 2024
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Bruce Maxwell’s wide-ranging tome, “China Media Australia Exotic Seas: A Recent History Of Us”, spans the past 100+ years of Chinese and Australian affairs, and deals in detail with the Southeast Asian countries in between, particularly the Malay, Indian and Arab seafarers who traded in these waters.
The world’s two largest archipelagos, Indonesia and the Philippines, are in focus, as are maritime developments in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
Two chapters cover his experiences during 100 voyages across the South China Sea, from sailing, fishing and exploring remote reefs to considering present-day stand-offs between China and the Philippines over a dozen isolated Spratly Islands.
Starting his career at The Sydney Morning Herald, Bruce became involved in sailing through covering the voyages and exploits of proponents such as Sir Francis Chichester, Sir Alec Rose, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and Sir Chay Blyth.
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Bruce then travelled to Hong Kong in 1971 to establish a Bangkok Bureau for the Far Eastern Economic Review, and was later Business Editor and Managing Editor for Magazines for the South China Morning Post.
In 1976 he separately launched a monthly magazine for the Hong Kong Yachting Association which became Asian Boating and then Asia-Pacific Boating, selling equity in this venture in 2001. He then wrote for Yachts International in Cannes and Fort Lauderdale, as well as for other Yachts titles in Europe, and became Associate Editor of Yacht Style a decade ago.
Bruce has an active engagement in yacht racing around the region, including organising and promoting the China Sea Race and San Fernando Race between Hong Kong and the Philippines, the King’s Cup in Phuket, Thailand, and the island-hopping Raja Muda Regatta in Malaysia.
Bruce was an inaugural member of the International Superyacht Society, and has been closely involved since the 1980s.
The book has 33 chapters, and apart from its many nautical aspects, covers the period from the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912 to the present. Maxwell’s personal involvement begins from the conclusion of WW11, and media stories retold in the memoir are sometimes taken from his own reports.
It is a fascinating account of an extended century in which we progressed from the advent of cars and planes and passports to the internet and AI. He advocates progressive policies and careful diplomacy based on real history to ensure a peaceful future.
The book can be purchased for A$38 via asia-pacificvoyages.com or by emailing Bruce bmax8888@bigpond.com
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