The Cambodian Center for Regional Studies (CCRS), in supported by Paññāsāstra University of Cambodia will organize Public Lecture on “Philippines-Vietnam Cooperation in the South China Sea: Key Implications for ASEAN”, by Distinguished Speaker, Dr. David Koh, Senior Lecturer at VinUniveristy, Hanoi, and Visiting Distinguished Senior Fellow, CCRS on Tuesday, 20 February 2024, from 9:30am to 12:00pm, at Paññāsāstra University of Cambodia (Toul Kork Campus).
Philippines and Vietnam appear to set a new trajectory in approaching the South China Sea (SCS) dispute amidst the slow progress in the negotiation on the Code of Conduct (COC) between ASEAN and China. In late January 2024, during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s official visit to Vietnam, Hanoi and Manila signed two memorandums of understanding on incident prevention in the SCS and coast guard cooperation. Both sides also agreed to resume their joint commission on maritime and ocean cooperation. More importantly, in November 2023, President Marcos Jr announced publicly that the Philippines had approached ASEAN states, particularly Vietnam and Malaysia, to craft a separate COC in the SCS given the slow conclusion of a regional COC between ASEAN and China.
This public lecture aims to unpack why ASEAN claimants such as the Philippines and Vietnam decided to currently exercise convergences towards a joint approach on the SCS dispute beyond the ASEAN framework. The lecture also discusses prospects of whether the cooperation on SCS between the Philippines and Vietnam can shift regional dynamics and calculations in the regional COC negotiation between ASEAN and China. The event deliberates implications of such cooperation on ASEAN and its questionable roles in addressing regional issues such as the SCS dispute.
To secure your seat, please complete the reply form by 19 February via this link: https://bit.ly/CCRSPLVN
| Program | |
|---|---|
| 9:30 – 10:00 AM | Registration |
| 10:00 – 10:05 AM | Welcoming Remarks by Mr. Him Raksmey, Executive Director, CCRS |
| 10:05 – 10:10 AM | Group Photograph |
| 10:10 – 11:25 AM | Public Lecture on “”Philippines-Vietnam Cooperation in the South China Sea: Key Implications for ASEAN” by Dr. David Koh, Senior Lecturer, VinUniversity, Hanoi, and Visiting Senior Distinguished Senior Advisor, CCRS Q&A Session, Moderated by Amb. Pou Sothirak, Distinguished Senior Advisor, CCRS |
| 11:25 – 11:30 AM | Closing Remarks by Amb. Pou Sothirak, Distinguished Senior Advisor, CCRS |
| 11:30 – 12:00 AM | Refreshment and End of Public Lecture |
About the Eminent Role Players:
Dr. David Koh is Singapore Chinese born, bred, and based in Singapore until the VinUniversity called him to Hanoi. His work experience over the last thirty years included copy-writer in an advertising agency; as a medical records clerk; as a radiography stenographer; a prisons officer, a high school teacher, foreign service officer, researcher and research program lead, journal editor, conference/seminar organiser and moderator, university lecturer, World Bank & UNDP consultant, academic entrepreneur, Board Chairman of an NGO, Town Council member, and last but not least, a businessman. At the VinUniversity, David Koh teaches Politics & Social Change, and Global Perspectives. He currently is conducting research into foreigners living in HCMC.
Ambassador Pou Sothirak is a retired academic currently serving as the Distinguished Senior Advisor to the Cambodian Center for Regional Studies (CCRS). He was the Executive Director of the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace from May 2013 to August 2023. He was appointed as Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia from September 2013 to January 2014. He was a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of the Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) in Singapore from January 2009 to December 2012. He also served as Cambodian Ambassador to Japan from April 2005 to November 2008. He was elected Cambodian Member of Parliaments twice during the national general election in 1993 and 2003. He was appointed as Minister of Industry Mines and Energy of the Royal Government of Cambodia from 1993 to 1998. He has written extensively on various issues concerning the development of Cambodia and the region.