The Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA) with the support of the Australian High Commission in Malaysia and the Embassy of Japan in Malaysia will conduct the Indo-Pacific and Ocean Governance: Roundtable with Think Tanks & Scholars Initiative.

The Roundtable will solicit views and exchange ideas among think tank experts from Japan, Australia, the United States (US), India, and ASEAN, in addition to security practitioners and government officials from Malaysia. This exchange will provide information and perspectives of not only different states’ Indo-Pacific strategy, but also the concerns and viewpoints of Malaysians and ASEAN member states.

The Indo-Pacific is the most strategically important region in the 21st maritime century that transverses the maritime space across the Indian and the Pacific Oceans. It has emerged as the centre of gravity for the geopolitical and geo-strategic competition between the United States and China. Two-third of the global economy is centred in the Indo-Pacific, contributing 60% of the world’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP). Furthermore, the region also hosts some of the world’s most critical sea lines of communication (SLOCs); hence, the maritime sector lies at the centre of discourse on the Indo-Pacific. In recent times, geopolitical dynamics and economic investments in the region have multiplied. Therefore, it is crucial to engage, connect, and rationalise the challenges in the Indo-Pacific region through multilateral cooperation among the Indo-Pacific nations on functional issues within the maritime domain, especially the non-traditional security challenges and ocean governance.