“Indo-Pacific”: Opportunities and Challenges for ASEAN
About the Seminar
The ASEAN Leaders are expected to issue the “ASEAN Indo-Pacific Outlook” at the conclusion of the 34th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok, Thailand on 23 June 2019. Heretofore, ASEAN has neither endorsed nor rejected the “Indo-Pacific” while its member states have held rounds of consultation towards forging a regional consensus on this new concept. The concern over ASEAN being bypassed and its centrality undermined was at the forefront of ASEAN’s deliberations, as the proponents of the concept – Australia, India, Japan and most recently, the US – aspire towards a broader regional order, combining the vast expanse of diverse political entities from the Pacific to the Indian oceans. What should ASEAN do to avoid being sidelined in this new construct? Conversely, could the “Indo-Pacific” provide added impetus – and urgency – for ASEAN to live up to its potential as the bedrock of the new broader regional order? This seminar brings together three prominent Track 1.5 experts from Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam to discuss ASEAN’s views and responses to the Indo-Pacific concept.
About the Speakers
Dr Edy Prasetyono is Executive Director, Center for ASEAN Studies and a Senior Lecturer at Department of International Relations, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Indonesia. Before joining the University, Dr. Prasetyono was the Head of International Relations Department at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Jakarta from 2001 to 2008. He was also Visiting Fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs in 1991 and Australian Defence Studies Center in 1993. Dr Prasetyono was a member of Indonesia’s Ministry of Defence working groups responsible for drafting bills for state defence and military, defence industry and intelligence. His research interests include security and defence issues, regional security in Southeast Asia and Asia Pacific, and foreign policy. Dr. Prasetyono obtained his BA from University of Indonesia, and MA and PhD degrees in Security Studies from the University of Birmingham, UK.
H.E. Ambassador Pou Sothirak is Executive Director of the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace (CICP). He also serves as Advisor to the Royal Government of Cambodia. Prior to this, he was Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia from September 2013 to January 2014, and a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute) in Singapore from 2009 to 2012. Mr Sothirak was appointed Cambodian Ambassador to Japan in 2005-2008 and twice elected as a Member of Parliaments in 1993 and 2003. He served as Minister of Industry Mines and Energy of the Royal Government of Cambodia from 1993 to 1998. Mr Sothirak joined the Boeing Company from 1981 to 1986 after earning his BA in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Oregon State University, USA.
Dr Nguyen Hung Son is the Acting Director-General, Institute for South China Sea/East Sea Studies of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam. Prior to this appointment, he was Deputy Director-General of the Institute for Strategic Studies at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam. His research focuses on major powers relations and foreign policies, regional security governance, particularly maritime security, and the foreign policy of Vietnam. Dr Son is a distinguished career diplomat, having served in the Vietnam’s mission in Ottawa and Stockholm. He also served as Director of Political Affairs Division at the ASEAN Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during which he participated extensively in regional summits, and had hands on experience on many regional processes and issues involving ASEAN. Dr Son earned his MSc and PhD degrees in International Economics from the University of Birmingham, UK and the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam.
Registration
For registration, please fill in this form and email to ascevents@iseas.edu.sg by 28 June 2019.