New Security Dynamics in the Indo-Pacific: Strategies, Partnerships and Rivalries

The aim of the workshop is to involve researchers in EUVIP consortium and some invited experts and early career researchers to compare the strategies of China, Japan, South Korea and regional organisations such as ASEAN, not just on Indo-Pacific strategies, but also other related topics such as connectivity, security (e.g., South China Sea) and China-US rivalry. We also use the first EUVIP workshop to get to know more about researchers and their work in our partner universities. Hence, our consortium’s researchers whose work is related to the Indo-Pacific studies are welcome to share their work-in-progress in this workshop and receive feedback.

This workshop is by invitation only.

Venue: University of Helsinki and Finnish Institute of International Affairs

Monday 29 May

14:00 Opening by local host Julie Yu-Wen Chen, University of Helsinki

14:10 Remark by EUVIP leaders Alfred Gerstl and Kristina Kironska

14:20 Remark by Arto Haapea, Director of Unit of East & Southeast Asia and Oceania, Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs

14:30-16:00

Panel 1: Comparing East Asian Countries’ Stances on Indo-Pacific Strategies

• China’s Role in the Emerging Indo-Pacific Politics

Julie Yu-Wen Chen, Professor of Chinese Studies, University of Helsinki

• Beijing Eyes Brussels: Chinese Perceptions of the European Tilt to the Indo-Pacific

Friso Stevens, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Helsinki

• Contentious Connectivity: The US, Japan and the Free and Open Indo-Pacific

Bart Gaens, Leading Researcher & Ville Sinkkonen, Posdoctoral Fellow, Finnish Institute of International Affairs

• South Korea’s Role in the Indo-Pacific: The Role of Domestic Politics in Shaping Strategies

Myunghee Lee, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Copenhagen

10:00-11:00

Panel 2: South China Sea Conflict and Exploring the Role of the EU

• EU-ASEAN Relations and Non-Traditional Security within the Indo-Pacific Construct

Monique Taylor, Senior Lecturer, University of Helsinki

• The EU’s Perspective on the South China Sea Dispute and Its Potential Role Therein

Alfred Gerstl, EUVIP Leader, Palacky University

11:00-12:00

Panel 3: India’s Role in the Indo-Pacific and How to Foster EU-India Relations?

• India’s China Challenge in the Indo-Pacific: Foreseeing the Future

Jagannath Panda, Head of Stockholm Center for South Asian and Indo-Pacific Affairs, Institute for Security and Development Policy

• Closing Gaps: The EU-India Partnership in the Indo-Pacific Region”

Henrik Chetan Aspengren, Swedish Institute of International Affairs

Panel 4: US-China Rivalry in the Indo-Pacific

• China-US Competition within the Military-Technological Sphere

Matti Puranen, Senior Researcher, Finnish National Defense University

• Minilaterals in the Indo-Pacific: AUKUS and the Quad’

Monique Taylor, Senior Lecturer, University of Helsinki