Asia after the War in Ukraine: Re-imagining multilateralism and the risk of high-intensity conflict
Practical information
Annual conference of Ifri's Center for Asian Studies. The war in Ukraine has marked the return of high-intensity conflict in Europe and represents a profound, structural shift in the region’s strategic environment. It also takes place against a backdrop of a decades-long rebalancing of global power and the increase of strategic competition between the United States and China, in particular.
To better understand the global consequences of this war, the conference will explore how middle powers in Asia – in particular those most directly affected by the US-China rivalry, and with varying degrees of interaction with Russia – interpret the consequences of the war in Ukraine for their own interests, for regional stability in Asia, and for the future of the multilateral, rules-based international order. It will further examine the risks of a return of high-intensity war to Asia and how the war in Ukraine affects a broader set of risk factors. It will also explore the impact on Europe’s strategy toward the Indo-Pacific region.
Opening remarks
09:00-09:20 Paris CEST
- Thomas GOMART, Director, Ifri
- François Chih-chung WU, Representative, Taipei Representative Office in France
Impacts of the war in Ukraine on Asia and the global order
09:20-11:15 Paris CEST
- Tomiko ICHIKAWA, Director General, Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA)
- Yujen KUO, Professor, National Sun Yat-sen University, Executive Director, Institute for National Policy Research (INPR)
- Garima MOHAN, Senior Fellow, Asia Program, German Marshall Fund of the United States
- Shafiah MUHIBAT, Deputy Executive Director for Research, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Jakarta
- Jung Yeop WOO, Research Fellow, Sejong Institute
Chaired by Françoise NICOLAS, Director, Center for Asian Studies, Ifri
What impact on stability in the Taiwan Strait?
11:30-13:00 Paris CEST
- Chih-cheng LO, Professor, Soochow University, Member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Legislative Yuan, Taiwan
- Marc JULIENNE, Head of China research, Center for Asian Studies, Ifri
- Simona GRANO, Senior Lecturer, University of Zurich, Director, Taiwan Studies Project, UZH
Chaired by John SEAMAN, Research Fellow, Center for Asian Studies, Ifri
Will war return to the Korean peninsula?
14:15-15:45 Paris CEST
- Sangsoo LEE, Deputy Director, Senior Research Fellow, Head of the Stockholm Korea Center, Institute for Security and Development Policy (ISDP)
- Suzanne DiMAGGIO, Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Eric BALLBACH, Research Associate, German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP)
Chaired by Françoise NICOLAS, Director, Center for Asian Studies, Ifri
What future for Europe’s Indo-Pacific Strategy?
16:00-17:00 Paris CEST
- Hervé DELPHIN, Head of Strategic Planning, External Action Service of the European Union
Conversation led by Céline PAJON, Head of Japan research and Coordinator of the Program for the Pacific Islands, Ifri
The conference will take place in hybrid format and in English – simultaneously at Ifri (Paris) and in virtual space . All times are listed in Paris time (CEST).
Other events
Brussels, Germany, France and Italy Facing the Energy and Industrial Crises: Coordinated or Diverging Trajectories?
Amidst soaring defense spending, higher borrowing costs, erosion of energy intensive industries, renewed energy price hikes and possibly physical shortages, the European Union and its Member States are again struggling to stabilize the European economies. Governments are tempted by uncoordinated, short-term moves while in Brussels, there is a struggle between the “more of the same” and the “scrap it largely” approaches to the transition.
Geopolitical stakes of the New Moon race
As the United States, China, and India solidify their lunar ambitions, Europe is still seeking to define its stance: should it be a reliable partner or an autonomous strategic player? This conference will examine the stakes of this new race to the Moon and Europe’s interest in asserting itself as a lunar power through partnerships, industrial ambitions, and whether its participation in the new lunar race serves as a lever for strategic autonomy and internal cohesion, or an illustration of its dependence.