York University to host forum on Indo-Pacific Strategic Framework

Regional conflict surrounding the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea and the Indo-Pacific Strategic Framework created to address the security threats will be debated at a public forum hosted by York University on Nov. 14 and 15.

Senior officials from Canada and from the Spratly conflict zone will participate in the two-day event called “Indo-Pacific Strategic Framework: A Public Forum.”

This discussion is part of an annual public forum on ocean frontiers organized by the Ocean Frontiers Working Group, Science for Peace. This year, it is on the evolving security order of the Indo-Pacific.

The Indo-Pacific Strategic Framework indicates a resolute shift away from an exclusive focus on free trade with Asia-Pacific regional economies and towards a maritime strategy calling for a “free and open Indo-Pacific.”

Nov. 14 features a keynote on “Sustainable Common Security” and a panel discussion on the “Evolving Security Order of the Indo-Pacific.”

A workshop on security governance will take place on Nov. 15, with officials and scholars. It is a pragmatic search for norms and strategies for peace to prevail.

The lineup includes:

Nov. 14, 5 to 7 p.m. – The Indo-Pacific: Security Governance for Peace in the Schulich Executive Conference Centre event room, York University Keele Campus
• Keynote: “A New Look at Sustainable Common Security” by Peggy Mason, former Canadian ambassador to the United Nations and president of the Rideau Institute
• Presentation: “United by the Ocean, Together” by Venilla Rajaguru, Chair of the Ocean Frontiers Research Working Group, Science for Peace, and research associate at the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies and the York Centre for Asian Research, York University
• Panel discussion and Q-and-A: “The Indo-Pacific: An Evolving Security Order?”  with officials from the conflict zones of the Spratly region of the South China Sea in the Western Pacific

Nov. 15, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. – Workshop on Indo-Pacific Security Governance in Room 524, Kaneff Tower, York University Keele Campus
• Session I: Security Issues and Cooperation
• Session II: Peace and Diplomacy
• Session III: Canada’s role in the Indo-Pacific

The forum is organized by Science for Peace, Canada, with the support of the York Centre for Asian Research and the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies at York University, and the Asian Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto.

The annual forum on ocean frontiers is presented in collaboration with the Conference of Defence Associations Institute based in Ottawa.