This exclusive event is internal to RSIS because Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) will be sharing with RSIS on the KAS network of Young Experts for Security in Asia (YESA).

YESA is an initiative of the Regional Programme Political Dialogue Asia of KAS. The aim of this project is to engage a group of young experts from the Indo-Pacific region who work in the field of foreign and security affairs. Through different political discussions and exchanges, the network functions as a platform that enables its members to develop a comprehensive understanding of the threat perception of the individual countries in the region, their respective national security priorities and strategies as well as transnational security issues. Consequently, the experts will be in a position to foster trust, increase predictability, identify common interests and collaborative solutions to current as well as possible future security risks; ultimately, improving their strategic foresight capabilities. In addition, the regular involvement of selected experts from Europe provides the participants with an opportunity to gain deeper insights into the security debate in Germany and Europe. They will be able to identify common priorities between Europe and Asia. Likewise, the European counterparts can learn from the perspectives and expectations of the Asian experts as to what role Europe and Germany, in particular, can play in developing a global security architecture and contributing to a more active foreign and security policy.

This first physical meeting of the KAS YESA network since the pandemic will serve two purposes: one, it will (re-)connect old and new members of the network and provide brief updates on the most pertinent security issues the individual members are working on. It will also provide an opportunity to discuss how the network can develop over the course of the next year. Secondly, it will provide a platform to discuss and debate the increased interest of European actors in becoming more active in the Indo-Pacific region. More concretely, this meeting may serve to discuss the new security situation in Europe after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and how the war is viewed from the Indo-Pacific region, as well as what potential consequences for the region and European engagement in it are.