Japan’s Security Cooperation with ASEAN: Evolution, Challenges, and Implications for Indo-Pacific Re

Name: Japan’s Security Cooperation with ASEAN: Evolution, Challenges, and Implications for Indo-Pacific Re
Start: 2025-10-10T10:00:00+08:00
End: 2025-10-10T11:30:00+08:00
Location: 30 Heng Mui Keng Terrace, Singapore, Singapore 119614

Schedule

Fri Oct 10 2025 at 10:00 am to 11:30 am

UTC+08:00

Location

30 Heng Mui Keng Terrace, Singapore, Singapore 119614 | Singapore, SG

https://www.iseas.edu.sg/mec-events/japans-security-cooperation-with-asean-evolution-challenges-and-implications-for-indo-pacific-regional-order/
About the Seminar
Since the early 2010s, Japan’s security cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has experienced a significant transformation at both the multilateral level and with individual member states, evolving from cautious, dialogue-based engagement to active, practical collaboration. Today, their security partnership encompasses, among other initiatives, capacity-building, defense equipment transfer, and joint exercises. This remarkable development has been primarily driven by their shared security concerns, including rapid shifts in power dynamics, escalating tensions over territorial disputes in the South China Sea, and transnational threats. It has been further facilitated by their mutual vision of upholding a “rule-based” regional order, demonstrated by the close alignment between Japan’s concept of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP). Nevertheless, despite recent progress in security cooperation, Japan and ASEAN still face considerable challenges in realising their common vision, attributable to a range of internal and external constraints.
The Seminar will explore the evolution and challenges associated with Japan-ASEAN security cooperation, as well as its implications for the future of regional order in the Indo-Pacific amidst intensifying geopolitical uncertainties.
The Seminar is jointly organised by the ASEAN Studies Centre at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute and the Embassy of Japan in Singapore.
About the Speaker
Dr Takeshi Yuzawa is a Professor of International Relations within the Faculty of Global and Interdisciplinary Studies (GIS) at Hosei University. He earned his PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Prior to his appointment at Hosei University, he was a research fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA). He is the author of Japan’s Security Policy and the ASEAN Regional Forum: The Search for Multilateral Security in the Asia-Pacific (Routledge) and has contributed articles to international peer-reviewed journals as well as numerous book chapters in edited volumes. Since 2024, he has held the position of Secretary-Treasurer and Executive Council member of the International Studies Association (ISA) Asia-Pacific.