Mainland Southeast Asia and the Mekong Region sit at the heart of the Indo-Pacific and are key focal areas for US foreign policy. The region is home to America’s strategic partners like Vietnam and Thailand, which is also a treaty ally of the United States. A prosperous and secure mainland Southeast Asia can lead to remarkable economic development that will benefit Americans with trade and investment opportunities, yet the burgeoning region is also home to a major ongoing conflict in Myanmar and is fraught with challenges related to natural resource conservation, a flagging human rights record, and recovery from conflicts in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. The Mekong Region has also emerged as a key front for constructive competition between China and the United States.
The Stimson Center is a center of excellence for achieving substantive impacts in mainland Southeast Asia. As an implementing partner of the Mekong-U.S. Partnership, our Southeast Asia program focuses efforts on promoting sustainable development and science diplomacy to conserve the mighty Mekong’s resources. Our Myanmar project examines the power dynamics among the complex nexus of actors there. Stimson’s War Legacies Working Group identifies and promotes needs for further cleanup of unexploded ordnance and dioxin in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. And our Cyber program addresses ways to prevent Americans from being victimized by cyber scam activities originating in mainland Southeast Asia.
On April 2nd, join us to hear from our experts on why America needs to continue to engage in mainland Southeast Asia and how a secure and prosperous mainland Southeast Asia is good for America. This conference will also feature high level speakers from the U.S. Department of State and Congress.
Coffee and lunch will be provided to in-person attendees.
This conference is supported by the Chino-Cienega Center, the Pulitzer Center, and the Mekong-U.S. Partnership.
Event Schedule
9:00 AM | Opening Remarks
Brian Finlay, President and CEO, Stimson Center, Stimson Center
DAS Andrew Herrup, Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of State Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
9:15 AM | Combatting Scam Compounds in the Mekong
Demian Smith, Director for Europe and Asia, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Department of State
Anastasia Zhiling Dong, Project Officer, Humanity Research Consultancy (Remote Speaker)
Hieu Ngo, Threat Hunter at National Cyber Security Center of Viet Nam and Co-founder of Chongluadao (Remote Speaker)
Allison Pytlak, Senior Fellow and Cyber Program Director, Stimson Center (Moderator)
9:55 AM | Keynote Speaker: Vietnam Ambassador to the United States H.E. Nguyen Quoc Dzung
H.E. Nguyen Quoc Dzung, Vietnam Ambassador to the United States
10:05 AM | Mekong River Environmental Issues Panel
Brian Eyler, Senior Fellow, Southeast Asia Program Director, Energy, Water, & Sustainability Program Director, Stimson Center
Zeb Hogan, Host of National Geographic’s Monster Fish, Wonders of the Mekong (Remote Speaker)
Niwat Roykaew, Goldman Environmental Prize Winner; Founder, Mekong School, Chiang Rai Thailand (Remote Speaker)
Anton Delgado, Investigative Fellow, Pulitzer Center (Moderator)
11:00 AM | Quickfire on Science Diplomacy
Carolyn Gruber, Fellow, Environmental Security Program Deputy Director, Stimson Center
Alan Basist, President, Eyes on Earth; Mekong Dam Monitor Co-Lead
11:20 AM | Quickfire on Myanmar
Yun Sun, Senior Fellow, East Asia Program Co-Director, China Program Director, Stimson Center
Steve Ross, Senior Fellow, Crisis in Rakhine State Project Director, Stimson Center
11:40 AM | Quickfire on War Legacies
Sera Koulabdara, CEO, Legacies of War; Stimson Center War Legacies Working Group Co-Chair
Susan Hammond, Executive Director, War Legacies Project; Stimson Center War Legacies Working Group Co-Chair
Anton Delgado, Investigative Fellow, Pulitzer Center (Moderator)
12:05 AM | Closing Remarks
Ambassador (ret.) Ted Osius, Former U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam; President, US-ASEAN Business Council
12:15 AM | Lunch and Networking