2022 will be the year of another major task for Cambodia, after being the host of the recent 13th Asia-Europe Summit in November 2021. Cambodia’s upcoming chairmanship of ASEAN will be Cambodia’s 3rd time as chair since its admission to ASEAN in 1999. With The Asia Foundation’s support, CICP has undertaken a major book project titled Cambodia’s Chairmanship of ASEAN: Challenging Perceptions, Concretizing Consolidations.
The book attempts to serve as a ‘guideline’ or even ‘handbook’ for relevant and interested stakeholders (including policymakers, the diplomatic community, academia, and the general public at large) to take stock of the prospective opportunities, become aware of the hindering challenges, and navigate through external influences. The book aspires to open constructive dialogue and discussion with key stakeholders at both national and regional levels to share ideas at the start of Cambodia’s ASEAN Chair year.
Featuring John Brandon – Senior Director, International Relations Programs; Associate Director, Washington, D.C., The Asia Foundation Pich Charadine – Deputy Executive Director, Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace Kavi Chongkittavorn – Senior Fellow, Institute of Security and International Studies, Thailand Bradley Jensen Murg – Distinguished Fellow & Senior Advisor, Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace
The world has endured a tumultuous few years due to economic stagnation, political polarization, global power struggles, violence, and long-term fragility accelerated and compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic. In Asia, political violence and organized conflicts continue to be fueled by the rising trend toward more authoritarian governance, the resurgence of identity-based politics, the contraction of democratic space, and violent extremism—often exacerbated by online disinformation. The second edition of The Asia Foundation’s State of Conflict and Violence in Asia report explores these factors and patterns of events through regional assessments and country-specific overviews, in particular addressing contemporary concerns over political polarization and identity-based tensions.
Featuring
Adam Burke, Regional Director, Conflict and Fragility, The Asia Foundation, and lead author of the report Sidney Jones, Senior Advisor, Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict, and guest contributor to the report Sofia Shakil, Director, Economic Programs, The Asia Foundation
Strategic Recommendations for the Biden Administration on Foreign Policy Towards Asia
9:00 am ET / 6:00 am PT
In the past U.S. administration, long-standing assumptions about the global political order were repeatedly questioned, and actions were taken that represented unexpected departures from established U.S. foreign policy positions. During this time, Asians responded with a mix of confusion, concern, relief, and approval. Many feared the United States might withdraw from the region. This never happened, but many Asians still believed that the U.S. was insufficiently engaged. One durable truth, however, is that Asia remains a vast, diverse, and complex region full of conflicting trends and differing interpretations. While there are vocal minorities in Asia opposed to any U.S. presence, Asian nations, by and large, want a United States that is engaged in their region. But what should America’s role be?
To help address this question, a select group of leading political, security and economic, and trade specialists from China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam were charged with writing a report and recommendations for U.S. policymakers. The authors will share their perspectives on U.S. policies and prospects in Northeast, South, and Southeast Asia.
Featuring H.E. Han Sung-Joo, report chair and Chairman of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies and Professor Emeritus at Korea University Kirida Bhaopichitr, report co-chair and Director of TDRI Economic Intelligence Service, Thailand Development Research Institute C. Raja Mohan, report co-chair and Director of the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore
Moderated by John J. Brandon, Senior Director, International Relations Programs and Associate Director, The Asia Foundation, Washington D.C.
Join The Asia Foundation for a discussion with Ambassador Ted Osius on his new book, Nothing is Impossible: America’s Reconciliation with Vietnam. After a lengthy war that cost nearly 60,000 Americans and more than three million Vietnamese lives, Vietnam today is one of America’s strongest international partners with a thriving economy and a people who welcome American visitors. But what kind of diplomacy was involved in helping to thaw tensions and overcome traumas for both countries over the past quarter century?
A diplomat for nearly three decades, Ambassador Osius served from 2014 to 2017 as US Ambassador to Vietnam, a country he has loved since first serving there in the 1990s when he helped open the US consulate in Ho Chi Minh City and later when he was one of the first diplomats at the US Embassy in Hanoi just after normalization of relations. Ambassador Osius devised and implemented strategies to deepen security ties, signed tens of billions of dollars in commercial deals, expanded educational exchanges, concluded agreements on trade, law, and environmental protection, and addressed honestly the US and Vietnam’s difficult past. Ambassador Osius’ work helped bring about a positive transformation in US-Vietnamese relations.
Featuring Amassador Ted Osius, Vice President, Government Affairs and Public Policy, Google Asia Pacific & Trustee of The Asia Foundation Michael R. DiGregorio, Country Representative, Vietnam, The Asia Foundation
Moderator John J. Brandon, Senior Director, International Relations Programs & Associate Director, Washington, DC, The Asia Foundation
The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic roll-back of economic progress across Southeast Asia. While the region has managed to contain the spread of the virus better than most others, the economic impact on the region has been devastating. As a result of its heavy dependence on the tourism sector, Thailand has one of the worst affected economies in Southeast Asia. Join The Asia Foundation to discuss findings from Revisiting the Pandemic: Surveys on the Impact of Covid-19 on Small Businesses and Workers. This study identifies the MSMEs and workers that are the most affected by the Covid-19 crisis so that policymakers and development agencies are informed about the situation on the ground, and can make informed decisions on how best to keep the country’s path to recovery on a stable trajectory.
The goal of the STITCH (Safeguarding Through Innovation and Technology Challenge) for RMG (readymade garments) Global Innovation Conference is to provide a platform for the industry actors and stakeholders to discuss disruptive future-work themes for the garment industry and find mitigation strategies to overcome their challenges to sustain the current industry growth. Additionally, the conference will maintain a strong focus on welfare and incorporate the voice of the female workers by highlighting their plight, their concerns, and the obstacles they face with the aim of coming up with solutions that can help the female garment workers progress in their careers and lives.
The conference will offer a space for all the industry stakeholders to share perspectives towards a shared vision and objectives for innovating together. It will work as a guiding anchor which the stakeholders will pledge to collectively work towards achieving a common goal.
While swift measures on border control taken by Pacific Island governments to contain the spread of Covid-19 spared the region a health crisis on the scale faced in other parts of the world, the social and economic implications of the pandemic have been catastrophic for the region’s fragile economies. Rising unemployment in the tourism and other sectors, along with inflation, has placed tremendous strain on households to meet basic needs and cope with a spike in gender-based violence. The pandemic has laid bare the precarious nature of earlier gains in women’s labor force participation, underscoring the particular vulnerability of women engaged in informal work. In addition, the Covid crisis has exacerbated existing susceptibility of workers in the Pacific Islands region to the uptake of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies. The region is one of the world’s most disaster-prone areas, with climate change contributing to the increasing occurrence of devastating tropical storms, cyclones, drought and flooding, as well as the growing threat of sea-level rise to vulnerable peoples and livelihoods in the sectors at greatest risk of climate impact. Further challenges revealed and intensified by the Covid-19 pandemic include the dangerous vulnerabilities in the Pacific’s digital information ecosystems. Despite efforts by the region’s governments and civil society to communicate effectively with citizens through social media, false and harmful information online has led to public confusion about the virus and hampered public health initiatives.
This event convened Asia Foundation experts for a discussion that highlighted opportunities to shift thinking, systems, and structures through proactive policies and reforms that support a transition toward greener, more resilient economies, a more inclusive labor force, and reliable and transparent information flows.
Featuring Ellen Boccuzzi, Senior Advisor, The Asia Foundation John Karr, Senior Director for Technology Programs, The Asia Foundation Sandra Kraushaar, Pacific Islands Director, The Asia Foundation Milika Sobey, Pacific Islands Program Manager, The Asia Foundation
Moderator Kim McQuay, Managing Director of the Program Specialists Group, The Asia Foundation
Please join The Asia Foundation for a discussion with Ambassador Nguyen Vu Tung on his new book, Flying Blind: Vietnam’s Decision to Join ASEAN. Amb. Nguyen’s book is a well-informed, highly-insightful account of why Vietnam joined ASEAN. His book illustrates how policymakers struggled to reconcile ideological and pragmatic considerations while navigating complex great-power and regional environments. Based on non-public official documents, rare personal interviews, and analytical research, Amb. Nguyen provides valuable insight into the thinking process and ideological underpinnings of Vietnam’s decision-making, and how the end of the Cold War allowed Hanoi to improve its understanding of ASEAN that resulted in better Vietnam-ASEAN relations, and subsequently, Vietnam’s membership in ASEAN.
Amb. Nguyen Vu Tung currently serves as the Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to the Republic of Korea. He has served as president of the Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam and deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of Vietnam in the United States. He has a master’s degree in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University and a doctoral degree in Political Science from Columbia University. His main areas of teaching, research, and publications include international relations theories, international relations in Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific, Vietnamese foreign policy and relations with the major powers, and ASEAN.
Moderator John J. Brandon, Senior Director, International Relations Programs, The Asia Foundation
While current civil war and extremism is gaining attention globally, many countries around the world are troubled by less intense yet still deeply damaging conflicts that often persist for decades. Local violence across Asia continues to cause death, destruction, and disruption as unstable politics, bloody historical legacies, and entrenched rivalries persist. Recent modern development may have brought new wealth to many but it has added further strains and inequalities. The polarization recently affecting the West has also been felt in much of Asia, as national leaders seek to gain popular acclaim by playing identity politics and online media accentuate divisions.
Yet even in these challenging times, action to prevent and to reduce conflict is possible. This discussion offers insight into the bold and innovative actions of peacebuilders across Asia. Rather than waiting for politics to change, local organizations and individuals have generated innovative ways to support dialogue between warring factions and enable communities to solve differences before violence breaks out. Following an overview by Adam Burke, Preeti Thapa will discuss her experiences of local peacebuilding from Nepal, and Noraida Chio will share her personal reflections on managing conflict in Mindanao, Philippines.
Featuring Noraida Chio, Senior Program Officer, Mindanao, Philippines Preeti Thapa, Deputy Country Representative, Nepal
Moderated by Adam Burke, Director, The Asia Foundation’s Conflict and Fragility Program
Visit Cambodia to hear from two young women, Phally Sim, a scholarship recipient, and Reaksmey Chhorpon Long, a tech entrepreneur. They share their experience of sustaining education during the pandemic and the crucial role of technology in helping women sustain livelihoods. Meloney Lindberg, The Asia Foundation’s Country Representative in Cambodia, and Jane Sloane, Senior Director of the Women’s Empowerment Programs, share how Young Lotus Members have made an impact in supporting girls’ education, women’s access to technology, and women’s entrepreneurship.
This panel is joined by Young Lotus Circle Founder and Lotus Circle Advisor Lin Jamison as moderator.
