The ASEAN 101 Congressional Briefing Series connected Congressional staff with academic, government, and business leaders with direct experience and expertise in the countries of ASEAN.
The first session invited Hoang Thi Thanh Nga, Deputy Chief of Mission at Embassy of Vietnam, and Ben Dolven, Specialist in Asian Affairs at the Congressional Research Service. The discussion centered around ASEAN’s historical and political context and the vital role it has played in facilitating cooperation and dialogue in Southeast Asia.
The second session featured Murray Hiebert, Head of Research at BowerGroupAsia and John Goyer, Executive Director for Southeast Asia at the US Chamber of Commerce. The speakers provided an analysis of ASEAN’s economic relationships with China and the United States, and assessed the impact of the US-China trade war, uncertain supply chains, and the COVID-19 pandemic on ASEAN.
The third session of ASEAN 101 featured Dr. Prashanth Parameswaran, a Fellow at the Asia Program at the Wilson Center, and Brian Harding, Senior Expert for Southeast Asia at the United States Institute of Peace, and focused on the security aspect of ASEAN. The speakers described the specific security context of the ASEAN member states and provided insight into how the US could enhance its engagement with the region.
The fourth and final session of ASEAN 101 brought together His Excellency Ashok Kumar Mirpuri, Ambassador of Singapore to the United States, and Ambassador Stapleton Roy, Founding Director Emeritus and Distinguished Scholar of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States at the Wilson Center and the former US Ambassador to China. The speakers discussed the diversity in ASEAN member states’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ways in which ASEAN collaboration had enhanced the public health response, and the future of ASEAN’s public health role in the region.
Session 1 | June 4 | ASEAN: One Vision, One Identity, One Community
Hoang Thi Thanh Nga, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Vietnam, Washington, DC
Ben Dolven, Specialist in Asian Affairs, Congressional Research Service
Session 2 | June 11 | ASEAN’s Integrated Economic Partnership and Economic Outlook
Murray Hiebert, Head of Research, BowerGroupAsia
John Goyer, Executive Director, Southeast Asia, US Chamber of Commerce
George Kalantzakis, Manager, International Government Affairs & Political Risk at ConocoPhillips
Session 3 | June 18 | ASEAN as a Security Community: Problems and Prospects
Brian Harding, Senior Expert for Southeast Asia, United States Institute of Peace
Dr. Prashanth Parameswaran, Fellow, Asia Program, Wilson Center
Hera Abbasi, Government & Regulatory Affairs Executive, IBM; Member, USAI Congressional Circle
Session 4 | June 25 | ASEAN Cooperation in the Face of COVID-19
His Excellency Ashok Kumar Mirpuri, Ambassador of Singapore to the United States
Ambassador Stapleton Roy, Founding Director Emeritus and Distinguished Scholar, Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, Wilson Center
Ben Wu, Chief Executive Officer, Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation; Deputy Secretary, Maryland Department of Commerce; Vice Chairman, US-Asia Institute
ASEAN 101 is organized by the US-Asia Institute, in cooperation with the Congressional Caucus on ASEAN. We would like to thank them for their support!
