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Mohamed Uvais Mohamed Ali Sabry is a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician. He served as Minister of External Affairs of the Government of Sri Lanka until September 2024. Throughout his legal career, Sabry held several significant positions, including serving as the Sri Lankan Consul General in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and representing Sri Lanka at international forums such as the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2012. He was appointed as a President's Counsel in 2012, becoming one of the youngest to receive this honor. Sabry was appointed as a Member of Parliament from the national list of the Sri Lanka Podu-jana Peramuna (SLPP) in 2020. He has since held multiple key ministerial roles, including: Minister of Justice , Minister of Finance and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Sri Lanka’s Economic Recovery and Foreign Policy: Balancing Growth and Geopolitics - M U M Ali Sabry
Ambassador Blake served for 31 years in the State Department in a wide range of leadership positions. From 2013 to 2016, he served as the U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia, where he focused on building stronger business and educational ties between the U.S. and Indonesia. In this role, he worked with the CEOs of Indonesia’s largest palm oil producers to develop a major sustainable palm oil initiative to reduce Indonesia’s greenhouse gas emissions. He also served as Senior Advisor to Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry to help conclude a Just Energy Transition Partnership with Indonesia in 2022. In 2009, he was nominated by President Obama to be Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, serving from 2009 to 2013, for which he was awarded the State Department’s Distinguished Service Award. From 2006 to 2009, he served concurrently as U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Prior to that, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission in India from 2003 to 2006, where he was named the worldwide DCM of the Year by the State Department. Ambassador Blake held a wide variety of key State Department positions as well, including Executive Assistant to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs from 2001 to 2003, Deputy Executive Secretary for the Department of State from 2000 to 2001, and Senior Desk Officer responsible for economic and political relations with Turkey from 1998 to 2000. He has also served in Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, and Nigeria. He is currently Chairman of the Board of the U.S.-Indonesia Society, is a member of the board of the Asia Foundation, and serves on the Global Leadership Council of the World Resources Institute and the National Committee of the World Wildlife Fund. Ambassador Blake holds a BA from Harvard College, and an MA from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC.
The future of the US Indo-Pacific Strategy in the New Trump Administration - Robert O. Blake
Dhruva Jaishankar is Executive Director of ORF America, which he helped establish in 2020. He is also a Non-Resident Fellow with the Lowy Institute in Australia and writes a regular column for the Hindustan Times. His research — on India’s relations with the United States, Japan, Australia, Southeast Asia, and Europe; defense and security policy; and globalization, democracy, and technology — has been published in several books including “Vishwa Shastra: India and the World", policy reports, and publications including Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and Survival. From 2016 to 2019, Jaishankar was a Fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at Brookings India in New Delhi and the Brookings Institution in Washington DC. From 2012 to 2016, he was a Transatlantic Fellow with the German Marshall Fund (GMF) in Washington DC, where he managed the India Trilateral Forum, a regular policy dialogue involving participants from India, Europe, and the United States. From 2009 to 2012, he was program officer with the Asia Program at GMF. Before that, he worked as a research assistant at the Brookings Institution in Washington and as a news writer and reporter for CNN-IBN television in New Delhi. In 2015-2016, Jaishankar was a Visiting Fellow with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He has also been a David Rockefeller Fellow with the Trilateral Commission, an IISS-SAIS Merrill Center Young Strategist, and a Brent Scowcroft Award Fellow with the Aspen Strategy Group. He holds a B.A. in history and classics from Macalester College, and an M.A. in security studies from Georgetown University.
Vishwa Shastra: India and the World - Dhruva Jaishankar
Lisa Curtis is a senior fellow and director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). She is a foreign policy and national security expert with over 20 years of service in the U.S. government, including at the National Security Council (NSC), CIA, State Department, and Capitol Hill. Her work has centered on U.S. policy toward the Indo-Pacific and South Asia, with a particular focus on U.S.-India strategic relations; Quad (United States, Australia, India, and Japan) cooperation; counterterrorism strategy in South and Central Asia; and China’s role in the region. Curtis served as deputy assistant to the president and NSC senior director for South and Central Asia from 2017 to 2021. During her tenure at the NSC, she coordinated U.S. policy development and implementation of the South Asia Strategy approved by the president in 2017 and was a key contributor to the Indo-Pacific Strategic Framework, which included expanding Quad security cooperation. She coordinated policies designed to strengthen the U.S.-India defense, diplomatic, and trade partnership, resulting in a widely recognized elevation of the relationship. Curtis also coordinated development of the U.S. strategy toward Central Asia, to include facilitating new partnerships with Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Curtis received the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service in December 2020 in recognition of her work at the NSC. From 2006 to 2017, Curtis was senior fellow on South Asia at the Heritage Foundation, where her responsibilities included research, writing, regular media appearances, and frequent congressional testimony. She also served as a professional staff member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, handling the South Asia portfolio for former chairman of the committee, Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), from 2003 to 2006. Before that, she worked as a senior advisor in the South Asia Bureau at the State Department, where she developed and coordinated U.S. policy on India-Pakistan relations. In the late 1990s, she worked as a senior analyst on South Asia at the CIA, and from 1994 to 1998 served at the U.S. embassies in Pakistan and India. Curtis has published commentary in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The National Interest, CNN.com, NPR.org, and other media outlets. She has made multiple appearances on CNN, Fox News, BBC, PBS, MSNBC, and C-SPAN. Curtis currently is board chair of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, on the Leadership Council of Women in National Security, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She received her BA in economics from Indiana University in December 1990.
Trump’s 2.0 Foreign Policy Priorities: Implications for US-South Asia Relations
His Excellency Indra Mani Pandey, is a career diplomat of India. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1990. Before his current assignment, he served as Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations and Other International organizations in Geneva. He had earlier served as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs in-charge of Disarmament & International Security Affairs Division. During his 33 years long career as an Indian diplomat, Ambassador Pandey has served as Ambassador of India to the Sultanate of Oman. Before his Ambassadorial assignment in Muscat, he served as Deputy Ambassador of India to France and Consul General of India at Guangzhou, China. Ambassador Pandey had also served in various diplomatic capacities at Indian Missions in Cairo (Egypt), Damascus (Syria), Islamabad (Pakistan), Kabul (Afghanistan) and Permanent Mission of India to the Conference on Disarmament, Geneva (Switzerland). During his earlier stints at the Ministry of External Affairs of India in  New Delhi, Ambassador Pandey handled assignments in West Asia and North Africa Division; Consular, Passport and Visa Division; Counter Terrorism Cell; Americas Division; and Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Myanmar (BSM) Division. During October 1998- June 99, Ambassador Pandey attended Foreign Service Programme at Oxford University, the U.K.  In 2009, he attended the 49th Annual Course on National Security and Strategy, conducted by National Defence College of India. #bimstec #bangladesh #nepal #thailand
In Conversation with Secretary General of BIMSTEC
Brigadier (Rtd) Dr. Robert G. Kabage, PhD, EBS, is the CEO of Mashariki Research and Policy Centre and a renowned expert in peace, conflict, and security management with extensive national, continental, and international experience. Serving the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) for over 35 years until his retirement in 2016, he held pivotal roles, including Peacekeeper in Sierra Leone (1999-2001), Defense Attaché at the Kenya Mission to the United Nations in New York (2008-2011), and Director of the International Peace Support Training Centre. Postretirement, Dr. Kabage served as Senior Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at the African Union Commission (AUC) Peace Support Operations Division (PSOD) from 2016 to 2020. He was awarded the Elder of the Order of the Burning Spear (EBS) in 2013 for his contributions to institutional cohesion, partnerships, and peace support operations. Additionally, he received a United Nations Medal for his exemplary leadership in Sierra Leone's Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) program. Academically, Dr. Kabage holds a PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies from Masinde Muliro University, along with degrees in Governance, Peace, and Security and Peace and Conflict Studies. He has lectured at Laikipia and Egerton Universities and is widely published on topics such as the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), peacekeeping, and violent extremism. Before his MRPC role, he was Executive Director at the Global Centre for Policy and Strategy, where he advanced the organization’s regional and international influence. Dr. Kabage continues to consult with key institutions like the African Union and the Eastern Africa Standby Force.
Brigadier (Retd.) Dr. Robert G. Kabage, Mashariki Research and Policy Centre, Kenya
Dr. Pascal Abb is a Researcher at the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF), where he focuses on international relations and security studies. With a strong academic background, he contributes to the understanding of global security dynamics and international cooperation. Dr. Abb's research examines the interplay between security policies and international relations, with particular emphasis on European security issues and transatlantic relations. He engages in various projects that explore contemporary challenges in security governance and contributes to the academic community through publications and presentations. His work is characterized by a commitment to fostering dialogue and collaboration among scholars and practitioners in the field of international relations.
Dr. Pascal Abb, Peace Research Institute Frankfurt
Shihoko Goto is the Director of the Indo-Pacific Program at the Wilson Center, specializing in trade, economics, and geopolitics in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, as well as U.S. policy in Northeast Asia. A seasoned journalist, she has reported from Tokyo and Washington for Dow Jones and UPI, covering global economy, international trade, and Asian markets. Goto is a columnist for The Diplomat and contributing editor to The Globalist. She serves on the executive board of the Japan- America Society of Washington, D.C., and the US-Taiwan Task Force at the Global Taiwan Institute. Previously, she worked as a donor country relations officer for the World Bank and was a fellow at the East-West Center and Knight Foundation. Goto holds an MA in International Political Theory from Waseda University in Japan and a BA in Modern History from Trinity College, University of Oxford.
Shihoko Goto, Wilson Center
Prof. John Blaxland is Director of the Australian National University (ANU) North America Liaison Office and Professor of International Security and Intelligence Studies in the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre (SDSC), Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, College of Asia and the Pacific at the ANU. He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of International Affairs. A military historian, he has authored or co-authored more than a dozen works including Adapting to Poly-Crisis (2024) Revealing Secrets (2023), and The US-Thai Alliance and Asian International Relations (2021). Prior to academia, John was a military intelligence officer, serving as Chief Intelligence Staff Officer (J2) at HQ Joint Operations Command, and defence attaché to Thailand and Myanmar. He was also the land forces intelligence officer for the International Force East Timor. He was also an exchange officer at the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington DC. At ANU he has served as Head of SDSC and Director of the ANU Southeast Asia Institute. He teaches "Southeast Asian Security Studies" and “Honeypots and Overcoats” and supervises several PhD students.
Prof. John Blaxland, Australian National University
Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Harinder Singh is former GOC of Indian Army. He is former DGMI and Commandant IMA. He has tenanted several important command and staff assignments in the Indian Army. He was a Research Fellow at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi, India. He has held several command and staff appointments, and is a postgraduate in defence studies from the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Wellington.
Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Harinder Singh, Former Commander of Indian Army
Prof. Yoichiro Sato is Dean of College of Asian Pacific Studies, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University. He was a Henneback Visiting Scholar and Professor at the Colorado School of Mines. He taught at the U.S. Department of Defense’s Asia- Pacific Center for Security Studies, Auckland University (New Zealand), Kansai Gaidai Hawaii College, and University of Hawaii. His major works include Japan in A Dynamic Asia (co-edited with Satu Limaye, Lexington Books, 2006), Norms, Interests, and Power in Japanese Foreign Policy (co-edited with Keiko Hirata, Palgrave, 2008), The Rise of China and International Security (co-edited with Kevin Cooney, Routledge, 2008), and The US-Japan Security Alliance: Regional Multilateralism (co-edited with Takashi Inoguchi and G. John Ikenberry, Palgrave, 2013).
Prof. Dr. Yoichiro Sato, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University
Dr. Alexey Kupriyanov is head of the Center of the Indo-Pacific Region of the Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, an independent research institute based in Moscow, Russia. He studied the Anglo-Saxon History at the Department of History of the Moscow City Teacher Training University and English language and literature in Ireland. He has a master’s degree in International Relations after graduating from the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia. His areas of research include history and modernity of the countries of the Global South, Southeast and East Asia, Indian foreign policy, Indo-Pacific region, Indo-Chinese relations, IR theory.
Dr. Alexey Kupriyanov, Institute of World Economy and International Relations
Dr. Roger Kangas is the Academic Dean of the Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies of the U.S. Department of Defense, located in Washington, DC. Prior to becoming a faculty member at the NESA Center in 2007, Dr. Kangas served as a Professor of Central Asian Studies at the George C. Marshall Center for European Security in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany; Deputy Director of the Central Asian Institute at the Johns Hopkins University’s Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, DC; Research Analyst on Central Asian Affairs for the Open Media Research Institute (OMRI) in Prague, Czech Republic; and Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Mississippi. Dr. Kangas is also an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, an Associate Fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (UK), and on the Advisory Board of the Caspian Policy Center (Washington, DC). He has written and spoken on security challenges in Central and South Asia, the South Caucasus, and the surrounding region. Dr. Kangas holds a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service degree in Comparative Politics from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and a Doctorate degree in Political Science from Indiana University.
Dr. Roger Kangas, Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies
Michael Kovrig is Senior Advisor, Asia with the International Crisis Group, contributing expertise on global security, diplomacy, and conflict prevention. With extensive experience in international relations, he has focused on fostering dialogue and mitigating risks in some of the world's most volatile regions. His work has spanned topics including geopolitics, economic stability, and the impacts of cross-border tensions. Before joining Crisis Group, Kovrig worked in diplomatic roles with the Canadian government, serving in countries like China and the United States. His tenure as a diplomat deepened his understanding of East Asian geopolitics, global trade issues, and international cooperation. His academic foundation includes studies in international affairs, and he has demonstrated a commitment to advancing peaceful solutions through thoughtful engagement. Known for his analytical acumen and strategic insight, Kovrig has contributed to numerous reports and policy discussions that seek to address root causes of conflict and promote sustainable peace. He continues to be a vital voice in the field of international conflict resolution. Michael has a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University.
Michael Kovrig, International Crisis Group
Dr. Ekaterina Koldunova is an Associate Professor at the Department of Asian and African Studies, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, the MFA of Russia. She holds a Ph.D. (Cand. Polit. Sc.) in International Relations. Dr. Ekaterina Koldunova has published in Russian, English, Italian and Chinese on regional transformations, BRICS and global governance, new security threats in East Asia, international relations in the Asia Pacific, Russian foreign policy in the Asia Pacific, political systems of Southeast Asian states, Thailand’s domestic and foreign policy. Her recent books include Security in East Asia: New Challenges (Moscow: Navona, 2010), Sociopolitical Thought, High Technologies and Science Development in the Major Asian Countries (coauthored with Sergei Lunev, Moscow: Academia, 2015), Framing Asian Studies: Geopolitics and Institutions (co-edited with Albert Tzeng and William Richter, Singapore: ISEAS, 2018). She is a Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Russian Comparative Politics journal. Ekaterina Koldunova is a member of International Studies Association (ISA), UK Higher Education Academy, Russian National Committee for BRICS studies, European Association of Southeast Asian Studies (EuroSEAS), International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Russian National Committee of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP).
Dr. Ekaterina Koldunova, Moscow State Institute of International Relations
Dr. Gudrun Wacker is at present Non-resident Senior Fellow in the Asia Division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, SWP) in Berlin, a think tank providing political advice to the German government and parliament. Her research focuses on Chinese foreign and security policy, especially EU-China relations, Taiwan, security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific and the Indo-Pacific. She is currently an EU delegate to the Experts and Eminent Persons Group of the ASEAN Regional Forum.
Dr. Gudrun Wacker, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik
Prof. Anuradha Chenoy is the former Dean at School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She has been Chairperson of Area Studies and Director of the Centre for Russian and Central Asian Studies. She has evaluated the work of organisations like Focus on the Global South, Asia Europe Peoples Forum and worked with several international organizations such as UN Women, UN Peace Keepers, UNESCO and others. She has several publications on security studies, development studies and gender studies, to name few - Maoist and Other Armed Conflicts, Reemerging Russia: Structures, Institutions and Processes, The Making of New Russia, Comparative Politics and Crisis of Governance: The Russian Conundrum, Militarism and Women in South Asia.
Prof. Dr. Anuradha M. Chenoy, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Prof. Brendan M. Howe (B.A. Hons Oxon, M.A. UKC, Ph.D. TCD) is Dean and Professor of the Graduate School of International Studies, Ewha Womans University, where he has worked since 2001. He currently serves as President of the Asian Political and International Studies Association and has been elected President of the World International Studies Committee from July 2025. He researches on traditional and non-traditional security cooperating, human security, and comprehensive peacebuilding. Prof. Howe has published around 150 related books, articles, and book chapters including The Protection and Promotion of Human Security in East Asia, UN Governance in Cambodia and Timor-Leste (co-authored), and edited volumes on Regional Cooperation for Peace and Development, Post-Conflict Development in East Asia, and Peacekeeping and the Asia Pacific.
Prof. Brendan M. Howe, Ewha Womans University
Dr. Ian Hall is a Professor of International Relations at Griffith University, Queensland, Australia. He has published widely on India’s international relations and Indo-Pacific affairs, and regularly provides analysis for the media. He is currently one of the convenors of the Blue Security Regional Maritime Exchange program funded by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Professor Hall has also participated in track II dialogues across the region, and ran an Australia-India-Japan Trilateral for the Griffith Asia Institute from 2017 until 2023. His most recent book is Modi and the Reinvention of Indian Foreign Policy (2019).
Prof. Ian Hall, Griffith University
Joanne Lin is the Senior Fellow and Co-Coordinator of the ASEAN Studies Centre, ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. She has over 15 years of work experience in the Singapore public sector, regional and international organisations, think tanks, and NGOs. She has previously served at the ASEAN Secretariat from 2015 to 2021 and was the Head of the External Relations Division under the ASEAN Political-Security Community Department. Her research includes ASEAN institutions, external relations, and political-security developments in ASEAN.
Joanne Lin Weiling, ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute
Dr. Bill Hayton is an Associate Fellow with the Asia-Pacific Programme at Chatham House, UK and the author of 'The South China Sea: The Struggle for Power in Asia' (2014). He researches, comments on and writes about developments in the South China Sea for news outlets, think tanks, universities and government institutions. He is also a full-time journalist with BBC News in London. He is the author of the The Invention of China (2020 forthcoming), and Vietnam: Rising Dragon (2010, second edition 2020). In 2006/7 he was the BBC’s reporter in Vietnam and in 2013 he spent a year advising the Myanmar state broadcaster on media reform. He recently received his PhD from the University of Cambridge for work on the origin and development of the South China Sea disputes.
Dr. Bill Hayton, Associate Fellow, Chatham House, UK
Admiral Jayantha Perera, the 19th Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy, brings 37 years of distinguished military experience and expertise in maritime defense. Renowned for safeguarding maritime boundaries and promoting ethical oceanic governance, he reached the pinnacle of his career through professionalism and dedication. Admiral Perera holds a Master of Science in Defence Studies from the University of Madras and another in Defence and Strategic Studies from the National Defence University in Islamabad, Pakistan. During his tenure, he held several senior naval appointments, including serving as the first Commanding Officer of the SLN Flagship ‘Sayura’ in 2000. For his acts of bravery on the battlefield and at sea, he was awarded multiple gallantry medals. After retiring as Navy Chief, Admiral Perera was appointed Advisor to the President on Maritime Affairs in 2015 and currently serves on the Presidential Task Force for COVID-19 prevention within the military and prisons. Additionally, he is a consultant and board director for a leading Sri Lankan shipping company. Active in the global maritime domain, he shares his vast knowledge and experience as a resource person, contributing significantly to defense and maritime affairs locally and internationally.
Admiral Jayantha Perera, Former Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy
Dr. Tess Newton Cain was a Nonresident Fellow at the Lowy Institute for International Policy in 2014. She is also a research associate with the ANU’s Development Policy Centre. Previously a Lecturer in Law at the University of the South Pacific, Tess has worked in the region as an independent researcher/ consultant since 2001. Based in Vanuatu, Tess has extensive experience in relation to development, governance, leadership and political engagement in Melanesia and elsewhere in the Pacific island region. Tess has an extensive record of academic publications, including coauthorship of Introduction to South Pacific Law (1999) and co-editorship of A Kind of Mending & Passage of Change (released by ANU e-press in 2010). Tess has a degree in Law and a PhD in Law & Criminology, both from the University of Wales (Cardiff).
Dr. Tess Newton Cain, Lowy Institute
Dr. Stephen Nagy’s main affiliation is as a professor at the International Christian University, Tokyo. Concurrently, he is a visiting fellow with the Japan Institute for International Affairs (JIIA). He serves as the director of policy studies for the Yokosuka Council of Asia Pacific Studies (YCAPS), spearheading their Indo-Pacific Policy Dialogue series. He is currently working on middlepower approaches to great-power competition in the Indo-Pacific. His latest publications include: Nagy, S.R. and Indu Saxena. 2024. Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific Construct. Nova Science Publishers; Nagy, Stephen and Thomas Murphy. 2024. “Middle Power Cyber Security Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific: An Analysis Through the Lens of Neo-Middle Power Diplomacy,” in The Journal of Intelligence, Conflict, and Warfare, Vol. 7, No. 1 (2024); “Middle- Power Alignment in the Free and Open Indo-Pacific: Securing Agency through Neo-Middle-Power Diplomacy,” in Asia Policy 17, No. 3, 2022; “US-China Strategic Competition and Converging Middle Power Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific,” in Strategic Analysis 46, No. 3, 2022; “Sino- Japanese Reactive Diplomacy as Seen Through the Interplay of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Free and Open Indo-Pacific Vision (FOIP),” in China Report, 2021.
Dr. Stephen R Nagy, Christian University, Japan
Dr. Kei Koga is Head of Division, Associate Professor at the Public Policy and Global Affairs Programme, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Concurrently, he is a Nonresident Fellow at The National Bureau of Asia Research (NBR), the United States, and a member of RIPS Research Committee, the Research Institute for Peace and Security (RIPS), Japan. Previously, he was Japan Scholar at the Wilson Center in 2022; visiting fellow at Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in 2017; a Japan-U.S. Partnership Fellow at the Research Institute for Peace and Security (RIPS), Tokyo, in 2012-2014; Postdoctoral Fellow in the International Studies Program, The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School, in 2012-2013; a Vasey Fellow at the Pacific Forum CSIS in 2009–2010; and RSISMacArthur visiting associate fellow at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), NTU in 2010. He received his Ph.D. in International Relations at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. His research focuses on International Security, International/Regional Institutions (particularly ASEAN), and East Asian/Indo-Pacific security. His recent publications include "Tactical hedging as coalition-building signal: The evolution of Quad and AUKUS in the Indo-Pacific" (The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 2024); "Institutional Dilemma: Quad and ASEAN in the Indo-Pacific" (Asian Perspective, 2023); and "Managing Great Power Politics: ASEAN, Institutional Strategy, and the South China Sea" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022).
Dr. Kei Koga, Nanyang Technological University
Captain Sarabjeet S Parmar is a retired Indian Naval Officer whose main areas of research include national and maritime strategy and security related aspects in the Indo-Pacific, piracy, HADR, and international maritime law with a focus on lawfare. He has written and spoken extensively at various national and international conferences in these areas. He has been a Research Fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses and worked in the Indian Navy’s strategic apex level offices where, as Director Strategy was part of the core team that published the Indian Navy’s 2015 unclassified maritime security strategy document titled Ensuring Secure Seas: Indian Maritime Security Strategy, carried out regional maritime assessments and completed the doctrine development plan. He was the Executive Director and Senior Fellow at the National Maritime Foundation prior retirement and presently is a Distinguished Fellow with the Council for Strategic and Defence Research, New Delhi.
Captain Sarabjeet Singh Parmar (Retd.), Council for Strategic and Defence Research
Captain Kentaro Furuya (of Japan Coast Guard) is an adjunct professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), a visiting professor at Keio University, and a professor at the Japan Coast Guard Academy. His career spans the realm of Coast Guard service, where he has dedicated himself to ensuring maritime safety and security both at sea and the development of policies onshore. Presently, he has been entrusted with the responsibility of being a faculty member in the Maritime Safety and Security Policy Program at GRIPS. This collaborative initiative, jointly planned and administered by GRIPS and JCG, enables students to acquire comprehensive expertise in their respective services, encompassing professional acumen, analytical proficiencies, and effective communication skills. Captain Furuya is responsible for instructing students in matters pertaining to the law of the sea, maritime security, and the formulation of policy on Coast Guard operations.
Capt. Kentaro Furuya, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies & Japan Coast Guard Academy
Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha (Retd.), is a former Commander in Chief of Indian Navy & Chairman Trustee, India Foundation, New Delhi. He commissioned as a combat pilot in the Indian Navy on June 1, 1974, had a distinguished career culminating as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of India’s Western Naval Command. This command, the Navy's operational backbone, oversees all operations on India’s western seaboard. He also served as Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CIDS), a pivotal tri-service role responsible for joint operations, strategic planning, and key defense acquisitions. A seasoned naval aviator, Admiral Sinha was part of the team that inducted the Sea Harrier jets into the Indian Navy. He commanded frontline ships, including INS Saryu, Shakti, and Delhi, and held leadership roles in fighter squadrons and airbases like INS Hansa. His operational experience includes commanding during operations against the LTTE and overseeing Western Fleet operations during Operation Parakram.
Admiral Shekhar Sinha, India Foundation
Prof. Geoffrey Till is S. Rajaratnam Professor of Strategic Studies at S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore. He was Emeritus Professor of Maritime Studies at King’s College London and Chairman of the Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy Studies. Once Dean of Academic Studies at the UK Joint Services Command and Staff College, he is author of nearly 300 books, chapters and articles. Since 2009 he has been a Visiting Professor, Senior Research Fellow and Advisor at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore. He held the Dudley W. Knox Chair for Naval History and Strategy at the US Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island and is now a Non- Resident Research Fellow at its Hattendorf Historical Center. His Understanding Victory: Naval Operations from Trafalgar to the Falklands was published by ABC-Clio in 2014 and he completed a fourth edition of his Seapower: A Guide for the 21st Century (2018) and an edited version of Bo Hu’s Chinese Maritime Power in the 21st Century (2019). His How to Grow a Navy: The Development of Maritime Power was published by Routledge in 2022. With John Hattendorf, he edited Recovering Naval Power; Henry Maydman and the Revival of the Royal Navy (Routledge, 2023). He is now working on a 5th edition of his Seapower book.
Prof. Geoffrey Till, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore
Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan is the Director-General of the National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi. He has been the principal evaluator of the Navy’s battletactics, the Head of the Naval Training Team at the Defence Services Staff College, and the Principal Director of Naval Operations. As a Flag Officer, he was the Navy’s first Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Foreign Cooperation & Intelligence). As a Vice Admiral, he has been Chief of Staff of the Western Naval Command and he has been commended three times by the President of India for sustained distinguished service. Apart from being on the visiting faculty of the higher-command establishments of all three of India’s defence services, as also triService establishments such as the College of Defence Management, Hyderabad and the National Defence College, New Delhi, he has also been advising the government through his interaction with the Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence (Navy), the Ministry of External Affairs, the National Security Council Secretariat, and the Joint Intelligence Committee. He is, in addition, a prolific writer with over 85 published professional articles and papers, and, a respected Adviser and Fellow of several important think-tanks including the Ananta-Aspen Centre; the Forum for Strategic and Security Studies; and, the Centre for Advanced Strategic and Security Studies.
Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan (Retd), National Maritime Foundation
Teruaki Aizawa is an Associate Professor at the National Defense Academy of Japan in Yokosuka, Japan. A retired Captain of Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), he is an expert in maritime security studies. He was a Mine Warfare Officer, and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Diver, and served in important positions such as Commanding officer of JS Hachijo. He also has various experiences as a government official and academic researcher, including as the Assistant Director of the National Security Policy Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Senior Research Fellow of the Military History Center, National Institute of Defense Studies. He retired from the JMSDF in March 2016, and then worked as a specialist in the Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau of the MOFA, and The Sasakawa Peace Foundation, as a research fellow of the Ocean Policy Research Institute. After that, He have been in current position since October 2020.
Capt. (Retd.) Teruaki Aizawa, National Defense Academy of Japan
Admiral Karambir Singh, PVSM, AVSM, IN (Retd), was India’s 24th Chief of the Naval Staff and is the Chairmanship of the National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi. He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, and the College of Naval Warfare, Mumbai. He has served in the Directorate of Naval Air Staff at the Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence (Navy) and has been Captain (Air) and Officer-in-Charge of the Naval Air Station at Mumbai. Admiral Singh has served as the Chief of Staff of the Eastern Naval Command and as a Vice-Admiral, he was the Director-General, Project Seabird. Thereafter, he was appointed as the Deputy Chief of Naval Staff. He assumed Command of the Indian Navy on 31 May 2019, serving until his retirement from active service on 30 November 2021. The Admiral was honoured with the prestigious award of the “Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star (2nd Highest order)” by the government of Japan for his dedication to strengthening the collaborative efforts between India and Japan in the realm of national defense, particularly in the context of achieving a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
Admiral Karambir Singh (Retd), Chairman, National Maritime Foundation
Cleo Paskal is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at Foundation for Defense of Democracies focusing on the Indo-Pacific region, in particular, the Pacific Islands and India. She has testified before the US Congress, regularly lectures and moderates for seminars for the US military, and has taught at defense colleges in the United States, United Kingdom, India, Canada, and Oman. From 2006 to 2022, she was an associate fellow at Chatham House, London, where, among other responsibilities, she was research lead on the multi-year futures project “Perspectives on Strategic Shifts in the Indo-Pacific 2019-2024.” She is widely published in the academic and popular press.
Cleo Paskal, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, USA.
Antoine Levesques is a Research Fellow for South and Central Asian Defence, Strategy and Diplomacy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, London. He specialises in the facts and assessments of South Asian policies towards China, regional nuclear issues, as well as Pakistan’s political and security perspectives. He also contributes to the South and Central Asian Defence, Strategy and Diplomacy programme’s activities of research, assessment, as well as convening and outreach to officials and other audiences, through publications and discussions in and outside of the region.
Antoine Levesques, International Institute for Strategic Studies, London,UK.
Lisa Curtis is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at Center for New American Security (CNAS). She is a foreign policy and national security expert with over 20 years of service in the U.S. government, including at the National Security Council (NSC), CIA, State Department, and Capitol Hill. Her work has centered on U.S. policy toward the Indo-Pacific and South Asia, with a particular focus on U.S.-India strategic relations; Quad (United States, Australia, India, and Japan) cooperation; counterterrorism strategy in South and Central Asia; and China’s role in the region. Curtis served as deputy assistant to the president and NSC senior director for South and Central Asia from 2017 to 2021. Curtis received the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service in December 2020 in recognition of her work at the NSC. From 2006 to 2017, Curtis was senior fellow on South Asia at the Heritage Foundation. She also served as a professional staff member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, handling the South Asia portfolio for former chairman of the committee, Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), from 2003 to 2006. Before that, she worked as a senior advisor in the South Asia Bureau at the State Department, where she developed and coordinated U.S. policy on India-Pakistan relations. In the late 1990s, she worked as a senior analyst on South Asia at the CIA, and from 1994 to 1998 served at the U.S. embassies in Pakistan and India. Curtis currently is Board Chair of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, on the Leadership Council of Women in National Security (LCWINS), and a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She received a bachelor of arts degree in economics from Indiana University in December 1990.
Lisa Curtis, Director, Indo-Pacific Security, Center for New American Security
Prof. Jeffrey Payne is an Assistant Professor at the Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies, US. He pilots NESA’s maritime security programming, including its ongoing series devoted to the Indian Ocean Region and wider Indo Pacific. In addition, he leads NESA’s engagements relating to maritime and littoral information sharing/data analysis. He conducts analysis on Chinese foreign policy, Indian Ocean Regional affairs, and maritime security. He is particularly interested in the intersection of maritime security and strategic competition in the Indian Ocean, as well as in how technology and information can assist in furthering security cooperation. His work informs United States Combatant Commands, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and interagency efforts inside the United States government.
Prof. Jeffrey S Payne, Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies
Dr. Taniguchi Tomohiko is formerly the Special Advisor on Foreign Policy and the chief foreign policy speechwriter for the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, worked closely with the Prime Minister. Notably, he contributed to crafting the addresses delivered by Mr. Abe to the parliamentarians of India, Australia, and the United States. Among these, the speech delivered at the Indian Parliament in 2007, titled "Confluence of the Two Seas," continues to resonate with the policy community in Delhi. Dr. Taniguchi's latest publication, Prime Minister Abe's Speeches (in Japanese), explores how Mr. Abe strategically employed speeches to advance national priorities, such as Abenomics, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD), and the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) strategy. Since April 1, 2023, Dr. Taniguchi has served as a Specially Appointed Professor at the University of Tsukuba and as a Special Adviser at the Fujitsu Future Studies Centre. Prior to these roles, he was a professor at Keio University while also working at the Prime Minister's Office alongside Mr. Abe and his senior advisors. He holds an LL.B. from the University of Tokyo and a doctorate in national security from Takushoku University.
Prof. Dr. Taniguchi Tomohiko, Former Special Adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
Pankaj Saran is a former diplomat with forty years of experience in foreign, strategic and national security affairs. He has served in key positions within the Government of India in the Prime Minister’s Office, the National Security Council Secretariat, Ministry of External Affairs and in several Indian Missions abroad. He has served as India’s Ambassador to Russia and India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, and as Head of the Northern Division in the Ministry of External Affairs dealing with Nepal and Bhutan. He has worked in different capacities with successive Indian Prime Ministers in the Prime Minister’s Office contributing to decision making at the highest levels in a diverse range of sectors, including foreign affairs and national security. From 2018 to 2021, he served as the Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Affairs under Prime Minister Narendra Modi dealing with regional and global strategy formulation, including maritime security and Arctic affairs, neighbourhood policy and technology and economic security. He is presently Convenor of NatStrat, a Delhi-based independent Centre for Research on Strategic and Security Issues. He is a Member of the National Security Advisory Board and a Distinguished Fellow of the National Maritime Foundation. He is a regular commentator and writer on foreign affairs, security and strategic issues.
Amb Pankaj Saran, Former Deputy National Security Advisor of India
H.E. Johnston is Ambassador of Australia to Nepal. He is a career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and was most recently Acting Australian High Commissioner in Abuja. She has previously served overseas in Fiji, France, Spain, Afghanistan, Kenya, Sweden, Germany, Türkiye and New Zealand. H.E. Johnston has a Bachelor of Arts from the Australian National University
H E Leann Johnston, Australian Ambassador to Nepal
Chair: Dr. Shantesh Kumar Singh, Professor, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India. • Lt. Gen (Retd.) Harinder Singh, Former GOC of Indian Army. • Kashif Anwar, Independent Researcher, India. • Dr. Shambhavi Thite, Senior Doctoral Fellow, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India. • Dr. Sanghamitra Kalita & Dr. Devi Roy, Faculty, University of Mysore & Guest Faculty, Delhi University, India. • Dr. Sania Makna, Assistant Professor, Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies, India. • Dr. Ghulam Ali, Deputy Director of Hong Kong Research Center for Asian Studies, Hong Kong. • Vijay Prasad Jayshwal, Assistant Professor, Tribhuvan University, Nepal.
Session E: Emerging Challenges in the Indo-Pacific Region
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