Aug 3, 2023
Date: 8 August 2023
Time: 2:30 - 5:30 pm
Venue: Le Méridien Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Distinguished Professor, School of International Service, American University, Washington, DC, USA
Senior Fellow, Asia Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington, DC, USA
Adjunct Senior Fellow, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Director, Centre for ASEAN Regionalism Universiti Malaya (CARUM), Asia-Europe Institute, Universiti Malaya
Amitav Acharya is the UNESCO Chair in Transnational Challenges and Governance and Distinguished Professor at the School of International Service, American University, Washington, DC. Previously he was a Professor at York University, Toronto and the University of Bristol, U.K. He is currently Honorary Professor at Rhodes University, South Africa, and Guest Professor at Nankai University, China. He was the inaugural Boeing Company Chair in International Relations at the Schwarzman Scholars Program at Tsinghua University, Fellow of Harvard’s Asia Center and John F. Kennedy School of Government, and Christensen Fellow at Oxford. His books include Re-imagining International Relations (Cambridge 2022, with Barry Buzan), The Making of Global International Relations (Cambridge 2019: with Barry Buzan); Constructing Global Order (Cambridge 2018); The End of American World Order (Polity 2014, 2018); Why Govern? Rethinking Demand and Progress in Global Governance (editor, Cambridge 2016); The Making of Southeast Asia (Cornell 2013); and Whose Ideas Matter (Cornell 2009). His essays have appeared in International Organization, International Security, International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Asian Studies, Foreign Affairs, Journal of Peace Research, International Affairs, Perspectives on Politics, and World Politics. He has written op-eds for Financial Times, International Herald Tribune (now International New York Times) Washington Post, Times of India, Australian Financial Review, and other newspapers around the world, and appeared on news media such as CNN International, BBC TV and BBC World Service Radio. He is the first non-Western scholar to be elected (for 2014-15) the President of the International Studies Association (ISA), the largest and most influential global network in international studies. He has received three ISA Distinguished Scholar Awards: in 2015 for his "contribution to non-Western IR theory and inclusion” in international studies, in 2018 for his “influence, intellectual works and mentorship” in the field of international organization; and in 2023 for his “extraordinary impact” in globalizing the study of International Relations and “mentorship of emerging scholars”. He is also a recipient of American University’s highest honor: Scholar-Teacher of the Year Award (2020).
Born in September 1964 in Athens, Greece. Mr Michalis Rokas is the Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation to Malaysia. Mr Rokas has twenty-six years experience in the field of foreign affairs having joined the European Commission External Relations Directorate General in 1994. His prior postings include Chargé d’Affaires a.i. and Head of EU Delegation to New Zealand, First secretary of the European Commission’s Office in Hong Kong and Macau, Head of the Support to Delegations Division at the European External Action Service (EEAS) and Deputy and Head of the China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Mongolia Division at the EEAS. Ambassador Rokas holds a bachelor degree in Economics and a postgraduate degree in European Economics. Mr Rokas’ mother tongue is Greek and he speaks English, French and German.
Elina Noor is a senior fellow in the Asia Program at Carnegie where she focuses on developments in Southeast Asia, particularly the impact and implications of technology in reshaping power dynamics, governance, and nation-building in the region.
Previously, Elina was director of political-security affairs and deputy director of the Washington, D.C. office at the Asia Society Policy Institute. Prior to that, Elina was an associate professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu. She spent most of her career at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia, where she last held the position of director, foreign policy and security studies. Elina was also formerly with the Brookings Institution’s Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World.
Between 2017 and 2019, Elina was a member of the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace. She currently serves on the ICRC’s Global Advisory Board on digital threats during conflict.
Elina read law at Oxford University. She obtained an LL.M (Public International Law) from the London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London, graduating with distinction at the top of her class. A recipient of the Perdana (Malaysian Prime Minister’s) Fellowship, she also holds an MA in security studies from Georgetown University, where she was a Women in International Security Scholar.
Dr. Johan Saravanamuttu is a Malaysian political scientist and international relations specialist with a wide international reputation. He is an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University and is an Adjunct Professor at Asia Europe Institute, Universiti Malaya since 2020. Dr. Johan was also previously professor of political science at the School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang where he served as Dean from 1994-1996, Thereafter in 1997, he was the Visiting Chair in ASEAN and International Studies at the Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto. His published works include the first major study of Malaysia’s foreign policy (1983), ASEAN regional non-governmental organizations (1986), and The Nexus Between Industrialization And The Institutionalization Of Authoritarian Regimes In Southeast Asia (1991). His recent books include “Power Sharing in a Divided Nation: Communalism and Politics in Six Decades of Malaysia’s Elections (2016)”, “Malaysia’s Foreign Policy, the First Fifty Years: Alignment, Neutralism, Islamism (2010)” and “Islam and Politics in Southeast Asia (2009)”. Dr. Johan Saravanamuttu obtained his Ph.D from the University of British Columbia after his M.A. from the University of British Columbia and B.S.Sc. from University of Singapore. His Area of Specialisation are Malaysian Politics & Foreign Relations, Southeast Asian Politics, Southeast Asian Regionalism, Islam and Politics in Southeast Asia.
Dr Rahul Mishra is the Director, CARUM, and Coordinator of the European Studies Programme at the Asia-Europe Institute, Universiti Malaya. He is also the Managing Editor of the AEI Insights journal. Dr Mishra specialises in politico-security affairs of the Southeast and East Asian region, ASEAN-EU regionalism, comparative regionalism, and the role of major & middle powers in the Indo-Pacific region, especially in the context of China’s rise. Prior to this, he was a Consultant with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. He has also worked with the ICWA and the IDSA for four years each. Recipient of the Asia Fellowship of the East-West Center in Washington D.C., Korean and the Australian Government Fellowships, he was previously affiliated with the RSIS (NTU) and NUS as well. He is a columnist with Deutsche Welle, Germany. Twitter: @rahulmishr_ Email: rahul.seas@gmail.com.
Indo-Pacific Project
Centre for ASEAN Regionalism Universiti Malaya (CARUM), Asia-Europe Institute, Universiti Malaya
(Funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Malaysia)
(Supported by: Delegation of the European Union to Malaysia, Embassy of Sweden In Kuala Lumpur, Embassy of Spain in Kuala Lumpur)
Indo-Pacific Research and Outreach Project
A Quadrilateral Outreach and Research Initiative in partnership with 18 Malaysian Institutions on 7 Pillars of the EU’s Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific
Introducton
The Indo-Pacific construct is bringing about a major shi7 in the way Southeast Asian countries and their major stakeholders perceive the regional dynamics. Despite China’s lukewarm response, support for the Indo-Pacific is gathering momentum with the US, Japan, Indonesia, India, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada acting as its leading proponents. With the European Union and its major stakeholders endorsing the Indo-Pacific, the construct has received a major fillip. Contrary to popular perception, the ongoing Ukrainian crisis has made it important for the EU and its member countries to put the Indo-Pacific under sharper strategic focus.
One of the central features of the Indo-Pacific construct is its emphasis on ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) as part of this region but also facilitating it to play the central role in shaping the ideational and normative contours of the emerging order. Initially wary of the Indo-Pacific, ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) has embraced the construct. Such a response came about a7er the EU, Japan, India, and the US reiterated their commitment to keeping ASEAN at the centre of the Indo-Pacific.
As one of its oldest dialogue partners, the EU aims to work more closely with ASEAN and its members in promoting Indo-Pacific cooperation. The EU and ASEAN decided to form a strategic partnership in 2020, reinforcing their common beliefs in the rule-based international order, efficient and sustainable multilateralism, and free and equitable trade. The EU published the Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific in 2021, outlining the multifaceted, normative, and inclusive approach to solving global challenges and reshaping the international order.
Like ASEAN (where Indonesia took the lead in promoting the Indo-Pacific construct), the countries, leading the push for an EU Indo-Pacific strategy – Germany, France, and the Netherlands – first announced their respective policies at the national level. These countries are not only leading European powers wielding significant influence over the EU but also have considerable economic and diplomatic influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
For ASEAN and the rest of the Indo-Pacific region, the EU's Indo-Pacific strategy is excellent news since it gives the Indo-Pacific system a powerful normative component. Despite the US efforts to develop a coordinated reaction to China's expanding presence in the Indo-Pacific, the EU attempts to avoid the US and China’s competition. This puts it in alignment with ASEAN and maybe another important normative function of the EU.
Wary of the US-China rivalry and its likely fallout many ASEAN member countries have not been vocally supportive of the Indo-Pacific construct even though they have endorsed the ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific (AOIP).
Malaysia and the Indo-Pacific
As a founding member of ASEAN and one of the biggest economies in the region, Malaysia is considered one of the most influential powers in the ASEAN region. It’s considered one of the five most influencing countries in the region.
Malaysia is a part of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which represents a total of 1.9 billion people worldwide. It is a member of the UN Human Rights Council (2022–2024) and continues to promote its perspectives on international issues, including the UN Security Council's reform, Middle Eastern conflicts, non-proliferation, terrorism, and violent extremism, among others. Malaysia’s proactive role in dealing with the military junta in Myanmar and efforts to restore democracy in the country has not gone unnoticed by the international community. Likewise, regarding the Rohingya question as well, Malaysia has done a commendable job in hosting the Rohingya refugees from war-torn Myanmar.
Malaysia still has not shown its cards regarding the current Indo-Pacific dynamics and is yet to officially embrace the Indo-Pacific construct. Both Malaysia’s current foreign and defence policies - the 2019 Foreign Policy Framework of the New Malaysia and the first-ever Defense White Paper launched the same year – do not explicitly mention the Indo-Pacific. The White Paper only references it to highlight some of Malaysia’s security concerns, particularly concerning the emerging great power rivalry.
A wide range of diplomatic, strategic, economic, and security-related agreements and arrangements anchor Malaysia’s foreign policy posture in the region. Many of these efforts are hardly inter-regional, but the accidental by-product of Malaysia’s strategic positioning, which straddles the Indian and Pacific oceans. They are nevertheless coherent efforts to address Malaysia’s strategic and security realities and pursue Malaysia’s concerns and interests, which extend into both oceans.
On the ground, Malaysia’s foreign and security policies acknowledge and attempt to deal with the emerging realities in the Indo-Pacific. Yet, despite being so proactive on other fronts, Malaysia’s response to the Indo-Pacific has not been very forthcoming.
Being a fellow democracy, which is also the EU’s second-largest economic partner in the ASEAN region, the EU and other stakeholders must quell Malaysia’s apprehensions about the Indo-Pacific and bring it onboard the Indo-Pacific community. This research and outreach initiative aims to disseminate knowledge about the EU’s cooperation strategy in the Indo- Pacific and generate informed debates on the subject at the national and provincial levels.
Objectives
This research and outreach project aims to facilitate a greater understanding of the EU’s Indo- Pacific strategy, its linkages with ASEAN’s Indo-Pacific outlook, and why and how Malaysia could benefit from the Indo-Pacific cooperation. It contributes to making sense of the emerging Indo-Pacific regional order in general and the EU’s Indo-Pacific engagement plans in particular and how it is a critically important opportunity for Malaysia. The organizers aim to do it by encouraging productive dialogues with key stakeholders, and actions in raising greater policy and diplomatic awareness amongst Malaysian policymakers, federal and state-level officials, journalists, students, and academicians.
The activity will increase the awareness and visibility of the EU Indo-Pacific Strategy (including those of its member states) and open up dialogue on its implications for Malaysia. With that, it aims to generate intellectual debates on Indo-Pacific strategy amongst policymakers at the federal and state levels as also among students and academicians.
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 2:30 pm | Registration & Arrival of Guests |
| 3:00 pm | Introduction |
| 3:10 pm | Introductory comments by the Moderator, Dr Rahul Mishra, Director of CARUM (Centre for ASEAN Regionalism Universiti Malaya) AEI, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia |
| 3:15 pm |
Dialogue Session:
|
| 4:15 pm | Q&A Session |
| 4:45 pm | Photo session |
| 5:00 pm | End of Session followed by Hi-Tea |
Seats are limited to 80 participants. Please register only if you are confirmed to attend.
Fill up the registration form here: https://bit.ly/ipdkualalumpur
Or scan the QR code here:
Any enquiries, please contact:
Madam Marsha Prema Priya - +6 03 7967 6921 - marsha.pp@um.edu.my
