On October 7-8, the Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA) under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) hosted the ‘8th ASEAN–ROK Think Tank Strategic Dialogue’ at the KNDA Hall of the Korea Diplomacy Center. The forum, themed Reconfiguring ASEAN–ROK Cooperation in an Era of Polycrisis, included a closed-door session on the first day and a public session on the second.

Chancellor KIM Heung-kyu delivered the opening remarks, followed by a lead presentation from Director General KWON Jaehwan for ASEAN and Southeast Asian Affairs at MOFA. On the second day, President Victor Andres C. Manhit of the Stratbase ADR Institute, Philippines, gave the lead presentation. The session also featured Professor Nguyen Vu Tung from the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, formerly the Vietnamese Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, along with eleven ASEAN-focused experts and KNDA faculty members.

In his welcoming remarks at the closed-door session, Chancellor KIM Heung-kyu highlighted the Dialogue’s growth into a leading Track 2.0 cooperation platform. He expressed hope that the experts’ discussions would support preparations for the upcoming ASEAN-ROK summit in Manila this November. Chancellor Kim identified key challenges, including crises and energy supply chain concerns near the Strait of Hormuz, cross-border disasters such as recent floods and landslides in Thailand, Myanmar, and Nepal, and increasing geopolitical competition in technology sectors like artificial intelligence and semiconductors. He emphasized the need for a coordinated response, stronger regional resilience, and sustainable cooperation. The Chancellor also reaffirmed ASEAN’s importance as a partner in advancing South Korea’s pragmatic diplomacy and cooperation with the Global South. He cited achievements such as the ASEAN-Korea High Performance Computing (HPC) facility in Cibinong, Indonesia, and stressed that future cooperation should deliver tangible benefits to local communities.

In his keynote speech on the first day, Director General KWON Jaehwan outlined a vision for cooperation based on three pillars of the ASEAN-ROK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP): ‘Contributor for Dreams and Hope,’ ‘Springboard for Growth and Innovation,’ and ‘Partner for Peace and Stability.’ He emphasized that this vision centers on ASEAN’s needs and priorities, aiming for practical outcomes where Korea’s strengths align with those needs. He proposed broadening collaboration in people-to-people exchanges and Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs), deepening cooperation in AI, digital, research and development (R&D), and energy, and expanding efforts to ensure regional peace and stability through responses to transnational crime, maritime security, and cyber security. He stressed the importance of developing practice-oriented partnerships rather than relying solely on the ‘ASEAN-ROK CSP’ slogan.

In his keynote speech on the second day, President Victor Andres C. Manhit of the Stratbase ADR Institute highlighted ASEAN’s vital role and the need to strengthen cooperation with Korea across multiple sectors amid today’s polycrisis. He noted that ASEAN, with a population of about 700 million and as the world’s fifth-largest economic bloc, is crucial for regional peace, stability, and economic resilience. To translate the upgraded ASEAN-ROK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) into tangible results, he called for expanded cooperation in AI, science and technology, the digital economy, renewable energy, maritime collaboration, and climate change response. President Manhit identified maritime cooperation as a priority, emphasizing the importance of building maritime capacity, sharing information, and enhancing resilient critical infrastructure. He also stressed that mutual respect, ongoing dialogue, and cooperation rooted in ASEAN centrality are essential for peace, stability, and a resilient regional order in Southeast Asia.

Experts from Korea and ASEAN discussed the evolving regional security landscape in the current era of ‘polycrisis’ and agreed on the need to further develop ASEAN-ROK relations in response. They moved beyond consensus on cooperation under the CSP, identifying priority areas and emphasizing the need for clear strategies to support concrete implementation. These areas include AI, renewable energy, climate change disaster response, and combating transnational crime.

Since its launch in 2019, the Dialogue has become a significant platform for sharing forward-looking policy options and connecting discussions to actionable policies, beyond reviewing current ASEAN-ROK issues. This eighth forum enabled a comprehensive assessment of the ASEAN-ROK CSP's achievements and challenges over the past two years, elevated in October 2024, and offered an opportunity to identify concrete areas for cooperation and policy directions that can turn crisis factors into opportunities for new collaboration in a changing global environment.

List of Speakers at the 8th ASEAN–ROK Think Tank Strategic Dialogue

[ASEAN]

Brunei: Hafiizh Hashim, Professor, Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD)

Cambodia: Phon Sokpanya, Director, Information & Data Unit, ASEAN-Korea Center

Indonesia: Pieter Pandie, Researcher, International Relations department, CSIS Indonesia.

Laos: Asoka Rasphone, Deputy Director General, The Institute of Foreign Affairs in Laos

Malaysia: Farlina Said, Director, Cyber and Technology Policy Program, The Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia

Myanmar: Ko Ko Maung, Executive Member, The Myanmar Institute of Strategic and International Studies

The Philippines: Victor Andres C. Manhit, President, The Stratbase ADR Institute

Singapore: Sarah Teo, Assistant Professor in the Regional Security Architecture Program, Nanyang Technological University

Thailand:  Pongphisoot Busbarat, Director, The Institute of Security and International Studies

East Timor: Hugo Immanuel Garcia, First Secretary of the Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Timor

Vietnam: Nguyen Vu Tung, Professor, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam / Former Vietnamese Ambassador to the Republic of Korea