Panel: Does Asia Pacific welcome NATO’s footprint?

World Today

NATO is boosting its visibility in the Asia Pacific region. For three years in a row, leaders or representatives of four Asia Pacific countries – Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand – have attended the annual summit of the military alliance. The outgoing NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has been an ardent advocator of Asia Pacific outreach, and his argument has been echoed by US officials as Washington, DC hosted this year’s NATO summit.

What is behind NATO’s growing interest in Asia Pacific? Will NATO be a force for good if it establishes a sizeable footprint in the region? Host Ding Heng is joined by Digby James Wren, External Relations Advisor to the Royal Academy of Cambodia; Lee Pei May, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the International Islamic University Malaysia; Professor Shen Dingli from the Institute of International Studies, Fudan University.