APLN and Jeju Peace Institute’s Special Online Sessions at Jeju Forum 2021

On 24 and 25 June, the annual Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity 2021 was held focused on the theme of “Sustainable Peace and Inclusive Prosperity.” APLN co-hosted five special online sessions featuring senior APLN members, senior experts, and international officials including UN High Representative Izumi Nakamitsu, China expert Professor Graham Allison, and retired major general of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, Yao Yunzhu, among others.

Session 1. The China-US Strategic Rivalry and Consequences for the Asia Pacific Region

This panel examines the consequences of the strategic rivalry between the United States and China for countries in the Asia Pacific. Speakers address questions such as: How great is the risk of war between China and the United States? How can China and the United States have a less confrontational and more productive relationship? How will the Biden Administration best manage the US relationship with China?

Panelists:

• Chung-in Moon, Vice Chair of APLN and Chair of Sejong Institute (Moderator)
• Graham Allison, Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School
• Yao Yunzhu, Academic Committee Member of the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University
• Gareth Evans, Chair of APLN and Distinguished Honorary Professor of Australian National University
• Sung-hwan Kim, Chair of East Asia Foundation

Watch the video here.

Session 2. Mitigating Existential Catastrophic Risks

This panel focuses on the APLN pandemic-nuclear-nexus project, which explored the future of nuclear war and nuclear disarmament in light of the uncertainty created by the global coronavirus pandemic. With sixteen urgent steps on mitigating the rising threat of nuclear war in the era of pandemics in the Asia-Pacific and beyond already set, the speakers address the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact in the the health sector and linkages to broader global challenges. 

Panelists:

• Shata Shetty, APLN Executive Director (Moderator)
• Peter Hayes, Director of Nautilus Institute, and APLN Research Director
• Vivian Lin, Professor and Executive Associate Dean of the LKS Faculty of Medicine at The University of Hong Kong
• Tuya Nyamosor, former Mongolian Foreign Minister

Watch the video here.

Session 3. Nuclear Hotlines and Risk Reduction: Past Experiences and Lessons from the Asia Pacific 

This panel examines the lessons learned from hotline agreements in managing crises and reducing nuclear risks. The speakers discuss how information exchanges and improved communication can promote risk reduction and reduce nuclear escalation pressures.

Panelists:

• Tanya Ogilvie-White, APLN Senior Research Advisor (Moderator)
• Chung-in Moon, APLN Vice-Chair and Chair of Sejong Institute
• Peter Hayes, Director of Nautilus Institute and APLN Research Director
• Philip Reiner, Chief Executive Director of the Institute for Science and Technology
• Jishe Fan, Senior Fellow and Director for Global Governance and International Organizations Studies at the Institute for International Strategic Studies, Party School of the Central Committee of CPC

Watch the video here.

Session 4. The DPRK Nuclear Quagmire and the Biden Administration

This panel outlines the newly elected Biden administration’s possible DPRK policy and the future of US-DRPK relations since the Hanoi Summit setback in February 2019. With little progress in resolving the North Korean nuclear quagmire, the advent of the Biden administration offers hope of a negotiated settlement through creative diplomacy. Fundamental questions on the Biden administration’s ability to make progress are addressed. The speakers provided insight on these issues by highlighting group-thinking among decision-makers, assessments of DPRK nuclear capabilities and threats, and analysis of the underlying objectives of the Biden administration’s foreign policy.

Panelists:

• Angela Kane, Senior Fellow at the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-proliferation and Former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs (Moderator)
• Frank Aum, Senior Expert on North Korea at the U.S. Institute of Peace
• Dingli Shen, Professor and the Former Associate Dean at Fudan University’s Institute of International Studies
• Bong-geun Jun, Professor at the Department of National Security and Unification Studies at the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security

Watch the video here.

Session 5. Assessing Emerging Technology Developments and the Impact on Nuclear Weapon Risks

This panel assesses advances in emerging technologies, how they may be exacerbating tensions between states by increasing escalation risks and in particular nuclear weapons use, with a special focus on the Asia Pacific region. The speakers discuss their views and analyses of technological developments in the Asia-Pacific, highlighting potential geopolitical, institutional, regional, and global implications.

Panelists:

• Shata Shetty, APLN Executive Director (Moderator)
• Namrata Goswami, Independent Scholar and Former Jennings-Randolph Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace
• Manpreet Sethi, Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi
• Tong Zhao, Senior Fellow at the Nuclear Policy Program of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
• Izumi Nakamitsu, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs

Watch the video here.