On 23-24 March, YCAPS joined forces with the Pacific Forum and US Embasssy Tokyo to host a workshop of the Maritime Experts Group. Nearly 40 participants joined the workshop with 15 making presentations on 5 panels. Noteably, 10 of the 15 panelists were women. YCAPS is particularly pleased to have had the opportunity en emposer more femal voices in the important discussions involving regional maritime security issues
The overarching objective of the Indo-Pacific Maritime Security Expert Working Group, composed of esteemed international security scholars and maritime experts from Japan, the United States, and other Indo-Pacific states, is to promote effective U.S.-Japan cooperation on maritime security issues in the region through rigorous research on various legal
interpretations, national policies, and cooperative frameworks to understand what is driving regional maritime tensions and what can be done to reduce those tensions. The workshop's goal is to help generate sound, pragmatic and actionable policy solutions for the United States, Japan, and the wider region, and to ensure that the rule of law and the spirit of cooperation prevail in maritime Indo-Pacific.
The Indo-Pacific Maritime Security Expert Working Group's 2021 workshop is funded by a grant from the U.S. Embassy Tokyo, and implemented by the Pacific Forum in collaboration with the Yokosuka Council on Asia Pacific Studies (YCAPS).
