On October 15th, 2020, YCAPS, JUMP and ICAS co-hosted a panel with 4 experts representing 4 countries/regions in the Indo-Pacific region, including Dr Rebecca Strating from Australia, a senior lecturer in Politics and International Relations at La Trobe University, Professor Toshihiro Nakayama from Japan, a professor of American Politics and Foreign Policy at Keio University, Nicholas Fang from Singapore, Director of Security and Global Affairs at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, and J.J. Suh from South Korea, currently a Professor at International Christian University in Tokyo. The panel shared their views on the upcoming U.S. elections and the impact of different outcomes on their representative countries.
The discussion was led by Stephen Nagy, a senior associate professor at the International Christian University in Tokyo. With over 100 participants attending the event remotely, the discussion touched on many subjects that were relevant to the current anticipation that is present among Indo-Pacific governments in the lead up to the U.S. elections in November. These included topics such as the trade war with China and how Trump and Biden may take different approaches to dealing with the rise of China, the role of human rights and democratic values in the future administration’s foreign policy, and the COVID-19 social and economic responses. The discussion was then opened to the participants for questions. Overall, the event was fruitful, giving more clarity to the possible impact of the U.S. elections on Indo-Pacific countries and how they should rethink their relations with the U.S. depending on the outcome in November.