Leading experts of the Asia Pacific Pathways to Progress contributed their views on the nature and trajectory of alliances in the conference on “Alliances Adrift: Is this the End of America’s Asian Alliances?” The event was held on 23 April 2019 in Singapore and was organized by the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs of the Australian National University, in collaboration with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies of the Nanyang Technological University, the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and sponsored by the Korea Foundation. The conference covered the historical and theoretical foundations of the San Francisco System, the challenges that the hub-and-spokes model faces in East and Southeast Asia, and the prospects of the survival of the alliance system.

Research Fellow Dr Charmaine Willoughby attended the international conference on Cooperation and Integration in the Baltic Region and Southeast Asia: A Comparative Perspective. The conference addressed common security issues that both regions face, including both traditional and non-traditional areas, as well as the ways to deepen multilateral cooperation and regional integration. The conference featured perspectives from delegates and scholars from Asia and Europe.

Asia Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation, Inc. (Pathways) held the second Track Two Observer (TTO) Discussion Forum last April 3, 2019, at One Burgundy Plaza, Quezon City. Pathways fellows Dr. Charmaine Willoughby and Dr. Jay Batongbacal were the guest speakers for the afternoon, sharing their insights on recent pressing issues.

With relevance to exploring options in resolving or managing maritime and territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and Australian Embassy in Manila organized a lecture-forum on the Tonkin Gulf Agreements and the Antarctic Treaty System. The event was held last March 29, 2019 at the Foreign Service Institute, DFA Building in Pasay City. The audience was composed of junior foreign service officers, participants from other government agencies and think-tanks. Program Convener Aaron Jed Rabena and Research Fellow Lucio Blanco Pitlo III attended for Pathways. Key speakers were Professor Stuart Kaye, Director and Professor of Law at the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, and Professor Nguyen Hong Thao, Professor of International Law at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam and Vice Chair of the U.N. International Law Commission.