The Research Institute for Peace and Security (RIPS) is pleased to host this webinar to discuss in-depth the current maritime security challenges in East Asia.

•   East Asia is a large seascape. As Japan and other regional countries depend much on the maritime space for their survival and prosperity, it is critically important to maintain the rules-based maritime international order. The most serious challenge is China’s maritime expansion in the absence of any overarching multilateral security frameworks in the region. China tries to alter the status quo not only by the PLA Navy but also by its maritime law-enforcement organization and even by maritime militia under the disguise of civilian fishermen. The gray zone warfare China has been engineering is not easy for any single country to deter or counter all by itself.
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    In addition to expanding its influence in maritime security, China is leveraging its economic power to compel other countries to subordinate with its policies. The rare earth export ban and semiconductor export restrictions are prime examples of this. Actions that threaten free trade—the core foundation of the free and open Indo-Pacific—hinder not only neighboring countries but also global economic exchange.
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    These Chinese military expansion and economical coercion are difficult to deter by each country on its own. Defense by all instruments of national power and by international partnership is increasingly important. Current momentum for cooperation among like-minded countries in the Indo-Pacific region, including the Quad countries, i.e., Japan, the United States, and Australia, and India must be maintained and even accelerated.
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    With these in mind at this critical juncture, it is indispensable for the international intellectual community to contribute to the global efforts to maintain the rules-based maritime order built upon the principle of the rule of law by promoting and sharing correct understanding of the acute security environment of East Asia and of the importance of the fundamental principle of the rule of law.
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    Sense of community and habit of cooperation are growing in the Indo-Pacific region. We must capitalize on this regional trend. Bilateral and mini-lateral initiative in regional security terms should be synergized, particularly to enhance maritime domain awareness in the huge maritime expanse.
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    This webinar will look into the significance of FOIP and Rules Based International Orders. Based on shared recognition of these points among the experts, the webinar will look into how we should and can address those serious challenges. Questions include: What is the current state of maritime security cooperation in the region?; What will be the future of the regional security architecture; How should the U.S. alliance network be intertwined in it; and what roles shouldthe Quad, AUKUS, ARF, ADMM, and ADMM+ play? Four prominent experts from France, the Philippines, the U.S., and Japan will discuss these issues.
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  The experts are; :
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      – Professor Mariko Kawano, Waseda University, Japan
      – Dr. Celine Pajon,  ifri, France.
      – Mr. Jonathan Berkshire Miller,  Macdonald-Laurier Institute, Canada. 
       
      Professor Hideshi Tokuchi, President of the Research Institute for Peace and Security (RIPS), will moderate the webinar.