event
Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center

Southeast Asia in Transition: How Can Russia and Japan Cooperate?

Fri. October 14th, 2016
Moscow

Session 1

Session 2

Carnegie Moscow Center hosted a discussion about the current situation in Southeast Asia and the potential of Russian-Japanese cooperation in the region. The discussion was organized by the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Carnegie Moscow Center.

The ten ASEAN countries form the most dynamically developing center in Asia. With aggregate GDP approaching $3 trillion and a combined population of 700 million, ASEAN promises to emerge as the world’s fourth largest economy by 2050. At the same time, Southeast Asia faces a number of serious challenges such as the threat of terrorism, the conflict in the South China Sea, and the competition between the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). These challenges cannot be answered without the participation of ASEAN’s key dialogue partners including the United States, China, Japan, and Russia. Tokyo has been one of ASEAN’s key external partners for decades, while Moscow seeks to make its relations with the bloc one of the key vectors of its “Pivot to Asia” in the aftermath of last May’s Russia-ASEAN summit.

  • What are the challenges facing ASEAN? Do the interests of Russia and Japan in this region align?
     
  • Is there room for interaction and cooperation between Tokyo and Moscow in Southeast Asia?

Leading experts on the region from Russia, Japan, and Singapore discussed these issues. Alexander Gabuev, Chair of the “Russia in the Asia-Pacific” program, moderated.

Nobuhiro Aizawa

Nobuhiro Aizawa is an assistant professor at Kyushu University.

Irene Chan

Irene Chan is a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore.

Alexander Gabuev

Alexander Gabuev is a senior associate and the chair of the Russia in the Asia-Pacific Program at the Carnegie Moscow Center.

Evgeny Kanaev

Evgeny Kanaev is a professor at the Higher School of Economics.

Yekaterina Koldunova

Yekaterina Koldunova is deputy dean of the Faculty of Political Science, MGIMO University.

Dmitry Mosyakov

Dmitry Mosyakov is the director of the Center for Southeast Asia, Australia and Oceania Studies of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Akio Takahara

Akio Takahara is a senior fellow and a professor at the University of Tokyo.

​Dmitri Trenin

Dmitri Trenin is the director of the Carnegie Moscow Center.

Foreign PolicyEast AsiaJapanRussia
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
event speakers

Nobuhiro Aizawa

Nobuhiro Aizawa is an associate professor at Kyushu University and a specialist on Southeast Asian politics. Prior to joining Kyushu University , He was a researcher at the Institute of Developing Economies at the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO).

Irene Chan

Alexander Gabuev

Alexander Gabuev

Director, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center

Alexander Gabuev is director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. Gabuev’s research is focused on Russian foreign policy with particular focus on the impact of the war in Ukraine and the Sino-Russia relationship. Since joining Carnegie in 2015, Gabuev has contributed commentary and analysis to a wide range of publications, including the Financial Times, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Economist.

Evgeny Kanaev

Yekaterina Koldunova

Dmitry Mosyakov

Akio Takahara

Akio Takahara is a professor of contemporary Chinese politics at the Graduate Schools for Law and Politics and the Graduate School of Public Policy at The University of Tokyo.

Dmitri Trenin

Director, Carnegie Moscow Center

Trenin was director of the Carnegie Moscow Center from 2008 to early 2022.