Synopsis

The webinar will focus on the current geo-economic rivalry between China and the US — particularly in relation to the ownership of fundamental 21st century technologies such as microchips, quantum computing, big data analytics, AI, the Internet of Things, and energy storage. It will discuss the political and security repercussions of this geo-economic rivalry over the past couple of years, and will take a fresh look in particular at the prospects for (and effects of) increasing decoupling. It will consider, against the background of this strategic geo-economic rivalry, the opportunities for continued East/West cooperation — as seen principally from the perspective of Singapore and of ASEAN more widely.

About the Speakers

Mark Bryan Manantan is the Director of Cybersecurity and Critical Technologies at the Pacific Forum in Honolulu, Hawaii. At the Forum, he currently leads the US Technology and Security partnerships with Japan, Australia, Taiwan, and South Korea and the Cyber ASEAN capacity-building initiative. He is also the host of Pacific Forum’s official podcast, the Indo-Pacific Current. He is also a non-resident fellow at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, at the National Chengchi University, in Taiwan, formerly a research consultant at the Asia Society Policy Institute, Washington D.C., and a visiting research fellow at the Japan Foundation, the Center for Rule-Making Strategies at Tama University in Tokyo, Japan, and the East-West Center, Washington D.C.

Huong Le Thu has been working in the fields of international security and foreign policy across academia, think tanks and international organisations for nearly two decades. She conducts research on different aspects of security, diplomacy and politics of Asia. She has lived and worked primarily in Northeast and Southeast Asia, including Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia. Huong has taught at universities, including the Australian National University, National Chengchi University, and worked with a number of top think tanks in the region, including ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Huong, who speaks five languages and has published in four of them, is a prolific writer and influential analyst. Her work frequently appears in policy-makers must-read lists and regularly features in global and regional media, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Economist, Financial Times, among others. Huong has a PhD degree in International Relations, and Masters and Honors in Political Science and Asian Studies.

Dipinder S Randhawa is a Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University. His research interests are in the areas of Development Economics, Finance and Banking, Policy formulation and analysis, technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and the economic consequences of the pandemic. Earlier Dipinder held research positions at the Institute of South Asian Studies and the Risk Management Institute. He has taught at Syracuse University and the National University of Singapore and held visiting appointments at Universities in China and Thailand. Dipinder received PhD from the Whitman School at Syracuse University.

Muhammad Faizal is a Research Fellow with the Regional Security Architecture Programme, Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS) at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Singapore. Prior to RSIS, he served many years in the Singapore Ministry of Home Affairs and National Security Coordination Secretariat where he headed teams in the roles of intelligence analysis, national security analysis, and international relations. He also served a stint in the Ministry of Communications and Information where he focused on the intersection of digital security and geopolitics. His current research interests include the implications of diplomatic, informational, military, and cyber issues on regional security in the Indo-Pacific; as well as information/influence operations’ and hybrid threats’ challenges on regionalism.

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