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Annual Conference of Ifri's Center for Asian Studies
Regional stability in East Asia is under increasingly heavy strain. As tensions rise between the United States and China, veering towards a more hardened strategic competition that extends well beyond the current trade war, the prospects of US-China confrontation loom large. The region’s hot spots – from the South China Sea to the Korean Peninsula to the Taiwan Strait – remain potent reminders of instability. Meanwhile, a competition for regional leadership continues to develop through concepts such as China’s ‘Belt and Road’ and the ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’. Regional competition is particularly visible in Southeast Asia, with clear impacts on both local and regional politics. The conference’s speakers will discuss these issues and more.
10:00 - Opening Remarks
Thomas Gomart, Director, Ifri
François Chih-Chung Wu, Representative, Taipei Representative Office in France
10:30-12:30 - Major trends and challenges shaping the East Asian regional order
Interactive debate moderated by Françoise Nicolas, Director, Center for Asian Studies, Ifri
- Yoichi Kato, Senior Research Fellow, Asia Pacific Initiative
- Joonhyung Kim, Professor, Handong Global University
- Cheng Chwee Kuik, Associate Professor, National University of Malaysia
- Jennifer Lind, Associate Professor, Dartmouth College
- Yuan-Ming Alvin Yao, Executive Secretary, The Prospect Foundation
- Feng Zhu, Professor of International Relations, Nanjing Univeristy
12:30 - 14:00 - Lunch break
14:00 - 15:30 - Southeast Asia: The emerging "great game"
Moderated by Françoise Nicolas, Director, Center for Asian Studies, Ifri
- Cheng Chwee Kuik, Associate Professor, National University of Malaysia
- Sophie Boisseau du Rocher, Senior Associate Fellow, Center for Asian Studies, Ifri
- Mumin Chen, Professor, Graduate Institute of International Politics, and Vice President for International Affairs, National Chung Hsing University
Other events
Lunch debate with Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand
Discussion co-chaired by Thierry de Montbrial, Executive Chairman of Ifri, member of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, and Marc Hecker, Deputy Director of Ifri (in English without translation).
North Korea Beyond Nukes: Focusing on the Human Rights Challenge
Debates surrounding North Korea are primarily focused on security issues, particularly nuclear and ballistic concerns, relegating the critical situation of the North Korean population and human rights violations to the background. The lack of information about the real living conditions of North Koreans contributes to the absence of attention and discussion on this crucial issue.
Shaping Europe’s Technological Sovereignty
In the wake of Donald Trump's re-election in the United States, Europeans face a crucial imperative: rethinking their sovereigny, especially in the technological realm. What will be the strategic priorities and action levers of the new European Commission on this issue? What assessment can we make of the previous Commission’s achievements and challenges in navigating Sino-American technological competition, transatlantic dependencies, and emerging global partnerships?