3rd Asia Pacific Regional Security Dialogue Programme
Day 1: Wednesday, 3 March 2004
State Actors and the over-arching security architecture of the Asia-Pacific
9.00
am to 9.15 am
Welcome
by Prof Han Feng (Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, CASS) and Prof
Marika Vicziany (MAI
, Monash University) followed by introductions around the table.
9.15 am to 10.45 am
Theme
Session 1: What is happening in our region?
Participants are asked to identify the critical factors that are currently determining security in the Asia Pacific region. It is anticipated that this section will consider the big players in the region, including the leadership roles of China, Japan, the US, Russia and India. China, Russia and India form 3/4s of the BRICs, countries predicted to have accelerated economic growth in the next decades. What is the relationship between security and the economic power of the big players?
10.45 am to 11.15 am - Morning Tea
11.15 am to 12.45 pm
Theme
Session 2: Is there a new arms race in our region?
Is there a new arms/missile race in the Asia Pacific region? What is the relationship between weapons of mass destruction and conventional weapons? What capacity do regional organizations and agreements have for containing arms proliferation? Who in our region could play a leadership role here?
12.45 pm to 2.00 pm - Lunch
2.00 pm to 3.30 pm
Theme
Session 3: Unresolved border disputes.
What are the important border disputes today and what impact are they having on regional insecurity? How are border disputes related to the arms race? How might some of the key border disputes be resolved?
3.30 pm to 4 pm Afternoon tea
4.00 pm
to 5.30 pm
Theme Session 4:
Trade and Investment for Regional Stability.
What role might more regional and global trade and foreign investment play in securing better regional stability?
Day 1: Wednesday, 3 March 2004, 6.00 pm 9.00 pm - Evening Programme
Cocktail party
in the Peace Hotel (hosted by MAI
)
7.00 pm C onference Dinner
in the Peace Hotel (hosted by CASS).
Day 2: Thursday, 4 March 2004
The role of non-state actors and their impact on regional security in the Asia Pacific
8.30
am to 10.00 am
Theme Session 5:
What non-state actors are threatening regional security?
Participants are asked to identify the critical groups that are undermining regional security in the Asia Pacific region: e.g. Al Qaeda, terrorists, insurgents, cross-border bandits, drug traders. What are their agendas, how organised are they across the region and what kind of threat do they pose? Are the activities of these non-state actors more threatening today than in the past?
10 am to 10.30 am - Morning Tea
10.30
am to 12.00 noon
Theme Session 6:
What are the objectives of the non-state actors?
Amongst
other things this session will consider the differences between mass
casualty terrorism and other forms of violence and what links, if
any, exist between regional violence and ideological, religious,
ethnic, social and political issues.
12.00 noon to 1.00 pm - Lunch
1.00 pm to 2.30 pm
Theme
Session 7: State responses to terrorism and violence
We will discuss the nature of state responses to terrorism in the region. How do state responses differ or are they similar? The impact of state responses on regional cooperation, long-term domestic stability and civil liberties will be considered.
2.30 pm to 3.00 pm - Afternoon tea
3.00
pm to 4.30 pm
Theme Session 8:
Other sources of regional insecurity
What else threatens regional stability and how might one respond to these? What role might good governance play in reducing the violence of non-state actors? What role does the media play in good governance? What are the prerequisites for good governance? Can good governance make a difference?
4.45 pm
Meeting
with the Australian Ambassador
All delegates, foreign and local, have been invited to a drinks reception at the Australian Embassy by Dr Alan Thomas, the Australian Ambassador to the People's Republic of China.
Buses will leave the Peace Hotel at 4.45 pm sharp in order to reach the Embassy by 5.30 pm. The reception will end at 7.00 pm and buses will bring all delegates back to the Hotel for dinner at 8.00 pm.
Day 2: Thursday, 4 March 2004, 7.30 pm - Evening Program
Conference dinner in the Peace Hotel hosted by MAI.
Day 3: Friday, 5 March 2004
Summing up our conclusions (and drafting a communique reflecting the consensus around the table)
9.00 am to 10.45 am
Theme Session
9: Summing up our conclusions
Participants are asked to reflect on how state and non-state actors influence regional security and what the sources of serious instability are today. Are today's sources of instability likely to be the scenario for the next 5 years? What are the greatest threats to our security?
10.45 am to 11.15 am - Morning Tea
11.15
am to 12.45 pm
Theme Session 10:
Drafting our communiqué
Provided that the participants around the table are willing, we would like to draft a communiqué that reflects the basic points the experts have agreed on. Of course, there will be many differences of opinion. But given the diverse range of experts around the table, it would be highly useful to see whether and at what point we agree on some things. If a communiqué is possible, we could circulate it to governments, the media, other scholars and policy makers in the region. This could play an important role in regional confidence building. We seek solutions to regional security issues not merely information about the nature of the problems.
12.45 pm to 2.00 pm
Lunch with
a Vote of Thanks by Prof Marika Vicziany and Prof
Han Feng