Practical information
Annual Conference of Ifri's Center for Asian Studies
Regional stability in East Asia is under increasingly heavy strain. As tensions rise between the United States and China, veering towards a more hardened strategic competition that extends well beyond the current trade war, the prospects of US-China confrontation loom large. The region’s hot spots – from the South China Sea to the Korean Peninsula to the Taiwan Strait – remain potent reminders of instability. Meanwhile, a competition for regional leadership continues to develop through concepts such as China’s ‘Belt and Road’ and the ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’. Regional competition is particularly visible in Southeast Asia, with clear impacts on both local and regional politics. The conference’s speakers will discuss these issues and more.
10:00 - Opening Remarks
Thomas Gomart, Director, Ifri
François Chih-Chung Wu, Representative, Taipei Representative Office in France
10:30-12:30 - Major trends and challenges shaping the East Asian regional order
Interactive debate moderated by Françoise Nicolas, Director, Center for Asian Studies, Ifri
- Yoichi Kato, Senior Research Fellow, Asia Pacific Initiative
- Joonhyung Kim, Professor, Handong Global University
- Cheng Chwee Kuik, Associate Professor, National University of Malaysia
- Jennifer Lind, Associate Professor, Dartmouth College
- Yuan-Ming Alvin Yao, Executive Secretary, The Prospect Foundation
- Feng Zhu, Professor of International Relations, Nanjing Univeristy
12:30 - 14:00 - Lunch break
14:00 - 15:30 - Southeast Asia: The emerging "great game"
Moderated by Françoise Nicolas, Director, Center for Asian Studies, Ifri
- Cheng Chwee Kuik, Associate Professor, National University of Malaysia
- Sophie Boisseau du Rocher, Senior Associate Fellow, Center for Asian Studies, Ifri
- Mumin Chen, Professor, Graduate Institute of International Politics, and Vice President for International Affairs, National Chung Hsing University
Other events
Nuclear Sharing in Europe: A Contested Policy That Endures
Since the end of the Cold War, the number of US nuclear weapons stationed in Europe has fallen more than seventy-fold, yet their presence in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey remains a quiet pillar of NATO's deterrence posture. This "nuclear sharing" arrangement, central to the Alliance since its founding, has long been contested by public opinion, political parties, and civil society across Europe, without ever being abandoned by host governments. This paradox lies at the heart of the seminar: why does such an unpopular policy persist?