International Conference on
Assessing Seoul’s New Southern Policy Plus: Perspectives from ASEAN, Korea and India
Organised by Korea Centre, East Asian Institute (EAI), National University of Singapore (NUS)
Sponsored by Korea Foundation
Friday, 3 December 2021
9.00 am to 3.00 pm (Singapore Time)
Seoul’s visionary New Southern Policy Plus (NSPP) is an outreach strategy and engagement with Southeast Asia and India for mutual benefits. How does the NSPP intersect with ASEAN Centrality and India’s Act East Policy? At issue is whether middle powers (Republic of Korea and ASEAN) and a regional great power (India) can create greater diplomatic, economic and cultural space for each other amid superpower contestation and competing great power concepts like Indo Pacific, QUAD (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue), AUKUS (Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States) and BRI (Belt and Road Initiative). This conference seeks to answer these intriguing questions from diverse scholarly perspectives.
~ Programme ~
Welcome Remarks (0:09)
Prof Bert Hofman
Director, East Asian Institute, NUS
Keynote Speech (2:10)
H E Ambassador Choi Hoon
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary,
Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Singapore
Session 1 - South Korea’s Middle Power Diplomacy and NSPP
Chaired by Prof Bert Hofman | Director, East Asian Institute, NUS
Korea's Middle Ambition and New Southern Policy (17:35)
Professor Choe Wongi | Korea National Diplomatic Academy
ASEAN and the Republic of Korea as Middle Powers: ASEAN Centrality and NSPP Amid Great Power Transition (38:29)
Dr Nur Shahadah Jamil | National University of Malaysia
Q & A
Session 2 - NSPP and Mekong Sub-Region
Chaired by Dr Lance Gore | Senior Research Fellow, East Asian Institute, NUS
Seoul’s New Southern Policy Plus (NSPP) and the Mekong Region: Cooperation for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth (1:19:27)
Prof Park Hahnkyu | Kyung Hee University, Republic of Korea
Advancing Partnership for Sustainability: A Thai Perspective on NSPP and South Korea's Engagement in the Mekong Subregion (1:36:47)
Mr Seksan Anantasirikiat | International Studies Centre, Thailand
Vietnam and the Republic of Korea: Mekong Cooperation amid Great Power Contestation (1:54:01)
Ms Hoang Thi Ha | ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore
Q & A
Session 3 - NSPP and Maritime States
Chaired by Dr Chen Gang | Senior Research Fellow & Assistant Director (Policy Research), East Asian Institute, NUS
India and South Korea between the Indian and Pacific Oceans: Overlapping Act East Policy and NSPP? (2:51:59)
Dr Jojin V. John | Indian Council of World Affairs
G20 and the NSPPlus Strategic Element: Indonesia and South Korea Strategy in midst of Major Global Power Rivalry (3:14:58)
Ms Resi Qurrata Aini and Dr Yandry Kurniawan | Universitas Indonesia
Singapore-ROK relations: A Singaporean Perspective on the NSP Plus’ Outreach Efforts (3:27:15)
Mr Shawn Ho | S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
South Korea’s Relations with Malaysia: Between NSPP, ASEAN Centrality and Look East Policy (3:46:55)
Prof Kim Hyungjong | Yonsei University, Republic of Korea
Q & A
Session 4 - NSPP and Human Security
Chaired by Dr Lam Peng Er | Head, Korea Centre, Principal Research Fellow, East Asian Institute, NUS
Evolution of South Korea's Diplomacy towards ASEAN: Embracing Human Security Perspectives in the NSP+ (4:23:55)
Prof Park Min Joung | Sookmyung Women’s University, Republic of Korea
Q & A
Concluding Remarks (4:56:12)
Dr Lam Peng Er | Head, Korea Centre, Principal Research Fellow, East Asian Institute, NUS
