A “Free and Open Indo-Pacific”: What does it mean for ASEAN?

REGIONAL STRATEGIC AND POLITICAL STUDIES PROGRAMME SEMINAR

About the Seminar

The coordinated embrace of the Indo-Pacific regional concept by the United States, Japan, India and Australia has triggered much debate, angst and confusion in Southeast Asia. What is this concept and how should Southeast Asian states and ASEAN respond? Is this a threat to ASEAN centrality? Is it a sign of a more severe, major power-dominated regional security environment to come?

ISEAS is pleased to have one of the best-placed people from Australia to provide his insights into the Indo-Pacific concept and what it might mean for ASEAN and key maritime Southeast Asian states including Singapore. Dr John Lee is writing an ISEAS Trends on this as well.

About the Speaker

Dr John Lee is an Associate Fellow at ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. He is also Senior Fellow (non-resident) at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney and a Senior Fellow (non-resident) at the Hudson Institute in Washington DC.

From 2016-2018, he was senior adviser to Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. In this role, he served as the principal adviser on Asia and for economic, strategic and political affairs in the Indo-Pacific region. Dr Lee was also appointed the Foreign Minister’s lead adviser on the 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper, the first comprehensive foreign affairs blueprint for Australia since 2003 and written to guide Australia’s external engagement for the next ten years and beyond.

He has held an adjunct professorship at the Australian National University. He is one of the foremost experts on the Chinese political-economy and on strategic and economic affairs pertaining to the Indo-Pacific.

Registration
For registration, please fill in this form and email to iseasevents2@iseas.edu.sg by 31 May 2018.