A group of international researchers will examine the changing state of strategic and tactical behaviour within the Indo-Pacific region at next month’s Australia-India-Japan trilateral workshop in Brisbane.
Run by Griffith University and Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two-day event will bring together experts and academics from educational institutions and government agencies across its participating countries at Hotel Jen, in the CBD.
The conference will be opened on Monday 5 February by Professor Caitlin Byrne, the Director of the Griffith Asia Institute.
Workshop attendees will provide insights about the potential international impacts of the changing regional dynamic, as well as recommendations on ways in which cooperation between Australia, India and Japan — and other states — can stabilise and secure the region. The workshop will focus in particular on the means being used to alter the status quo, their effect on the region’s existing order, and how they may be countered.
Topics to be covered include the acceleration of nuclear proliferation in the Indo-Pacific; increased acquisition of new weapons systems; greater use of paramilitary forces; the potential emergence of ‘grey-zone’ warfare in the region; economic statecraft and more.
“The Indo-Pacific sits at the epicentre of shifting global and regional dynamics, and is marked by enormous uncertainty and opportunity,” Professor Byrne said.
“This workshop builds on Australia’s interest in working with regional partners, India and Japan to explore the challenges ahead and identify opportunities for cooperation that will promote regional peace and stability.”
Participants include Griffith academics and co-organisers Associate Professor Michael Heazle and Professor Ian Hall, Dr Ashutosh Misra, Dr Amitendu Palit of Singapore’s Institute of South Asia Studies, and Dr Abhijnan Rej of the Observer Research Foundation, among others.
Also joining the discourse will be Mr Julio S Amandor III (Security, Justice and Peace Cluster — Office of the Cabinet Secretary, Manila), Professor Shutaro Sano (Deputy Director, Centre for International Exchange, National Defense Academy of Japan), and former senior Japanese defense official Mr Hideshi Tokuchi.
For more information about Griffith Asia Institute, see its website.