Asia-Pacific is in the middle of an increasingly alarming security crisis, potentially a collision course to war between China and the United States. The next few years could reach a critical point, and an armed conflict could break out. Combined to the struggle between the Global and BRICS+ models and to various regional issues, it would have irreversible consequences at various degrees for the whole world. European and Southeast Asian countries, at each extremity of Eurasia, are particularly concerned and impacted by these troubles on the horizon. As the main international economic and industrial hub, Asia is a vital lifeline for Europe. Southeast Asia, being at the geographic edge of the initial hotspots between China and the US, is most directly exposed to the potential spreading of this conflict, which could severely threaten its security and prosperity. More generally, such a war would be most intense and long, and would result in a complete reshaping of the strategic map. Moreover, the current rising confrontation between China and the US is already generating worrying challenges and uncertainties.
Despite a major security and/or economic dependency on the US or China, European and Southeast-Asian countries have their geopolitical particularities with specific priorities, interests and limits. This is, for instance, reflected in France’s “Third Way” policy between the US and China or in the non-alignment principle firmly grounded in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Charter. These countries have a lot to share in security matters, with converging views. However, at the moment, their security cooperation remains most rudimentary and underrated. In the strategic countdown we are witnessing, tackling this approach is therefore clearly an emergency.
In order to shed some light on this issue and to provide the best possible answers and comparative perspectives from various European and Southeast Asian countries, we will have the privilege of listening to Ms Juliette Loesch, associate researcher on Southeast Asia at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), and to Dr Alan Chong, senior fellow at the Centre for Multilateralism Studies at the Singaporean S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSiS).
Research lines: Europe; Indo-Pacific
Source image: © Ministry of Defence of Singapore
Registration by Thursday 3 February 2025
at the latest is compulsory.
Evening conference
The Strategic Value of Security Cooperation between European and ASEAN Countries
Ms Juliette LOESCH
Dr Alan CHONG
Moderator: Xavier BARA
Language: English
Simultaneous interpretation in French and Dutch
10 February 2025, 17:00 – 18:30
> 16:30 – Registration
> 17:00 – Conference
> 18:45 – Reception
Campus Renaissance
Rue Hobbema/Hobbemastraat, 8
1000 Brussels