ABSTRACT
The strategic dynamic in the Indo-Pacific region has developed in ways that have naturally shaped our agenda for this weekend. The strategies of the US and China in this region remain central, as do the perspectives of Southeast Asian states on current geopolitical trends. The Western response has moved from noting that Ukraine was not in NATO but would be supported, to the determination to provide defensive weapons but avoid escalation, to the view that Russia’s strategic failure must be assured, to the position that Ukraine can and must win, to the assertion that Russia’s conventional power must be so reduced that it can never threaten a neighbour again. Given the nature of contemporary warfare, the relationship between Articles 4 and 5 of the NATO Treaty might also require reassessment. For many countries in Asia and the Middle East, this war has raised questions about their alignments and hedging strategies.
