OVERVIEW:

The Genron NPO launched the historic initiative aiming at building sustainable peace in volatile Northeast Asia with experts and former officials from Japan, the United States, China, and South Korea in January 2020. Having conducted extensive dialogue with China towards sustainable peace and stability in the region through its Track 1.5 Japan-China dialogue, the Genron NPO will begin a new endeavor to contribute to peace and stability in the region.

With the Asia Peace Conference, we build a Track II multinational platform for joint efforts to contribute to maintaining the peace and future development of frameworks for supporting sustainable peace and stability in the region. This is an attempt to open the discussion by starting at the non-governmental level to build an environment for future formal processes. By launching a new multinational platform for candid discussion involving the United States and China on regional crisis management, management of hotspots, and visions and norms for the future of a peaceful order in a structurally unstable Northeast Asia, we aim to contribute to an environment for future formal processes towards sustainable peace in the region.

This year the Genron NPO will hold the Second Asia Peace Conference on 24th February 2021 to discuss pressing security issues and possibility of peaceful order based on rules and principles in Northeast Asia with high-level participants from the United States, China, Republic of Korea, and Japan. Prior to the conference, The Genron NPO will hold the Japan-U.S. Dialogue 2021 on 23rd February with distinguished experts on diplomatic and security issues.

Asia Peace Conference 2021

Dates:Wednesday, 24 February, 2021 (February 23 February for the participants from the US)

Panelists (As of Feb. 18):

United States
Robert P. Girrier, President, Pacific Forum
Douglas Paal, Nonresident Scholar, Asia Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Daniel Russel, Former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Frank Jannuzi, President and CEO, The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation

China
Jia Qingguo, Former Dean, the School of International Studies, Peking University,
and a Member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
Zhang Tuosheng, Principal Researcher, Chairman of Academic Committee, Grandview Institution
Yang Chaoying, Vice Chairman, the China Foundation for International and Strategic Studies

Republic of Korea
Han Sung-Joo, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Korea and Chairman, The Asan Institute for Policy Studies
Go Myong-Hyun, Senior Fellow, Center for North Korean Research, The Asan Institute for Policy Studies
Lee Shin-wha, Professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Korea University

Japan
Yasushi Kudo, President, the Genron NPO
Yoji Koda, Former Commander-in-Chief of Japan's Self-Defense Fleet
Yuji Miyamoto, Former Ambassador to China
Yoshihide Soeya, Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Law, Keio University
Ken Jimbo, Professor, Faculty of Policy Management, Keio University
Masayuki Masuda, Senior Fellow, China Division, National Institute for Defense Studies
Masanori Nishi, Former Administrative Vice-Minister of Defense
Osamu Onoda, Former Commanding Officer of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force Air Training Command
Katsutoshi Kawano Former Chief of Staff, the Japan Self-Defense Forces

Topics:

Session 1: How to address security risks in Northeast Asia in 2021
What security risks are we facing in Northeast Asia and beyond the region? What is the cause of the tension? Are the risks preventable, and what efforts are required for that?

Session 2: Is the order of peace based on rules and principles achievable in Northeast Asia?

Which issues should we address now to avoid accidents and military conflict
in Northeast Asia? Is it possible to establish the peaceful order based on
rules and principles? What is the ideal order for peace in the region in the
long-term views?

the US-Japan Dialogue

Dates: From 6 pm to 10pm on Monday 22nd, February, 2021 in EST (From 8 am to 12 pm on 23rd in JST)

Panelists (As of Feb. 12th):

United States
Robert P. Girrier President, Pacific Forum
Douglas Paal Nonresident Scholar, Asia Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Daniel Russel Former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Mark Montgomery Executive Director, the Cyberspace Solarium Commission
Michael Schiffer Senior Advisor and Counselor, the Democratic Staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Gary Roughead Former US Chief of Naval Operations
Richard Fontaine Chief Executive Officer, Center for a New American Security (CNAS)

Japan
Yasushi Kudo President, the Genron NPO
Katsutoshi Kawano Former Chief of Staff, the Japan Self-Defense Forces
Yoji Koda Former Commander-in-Chief of Japan's Self-Defense Fleet
Yuji Miyamoto Former Ambassador to China
Masanori Nishi Former Administrative Vice-Minister of Defense
Ken Jimbo Professor, Faculty of Policy Management, Keio University
Masayuki Masuda Senior Fellow, China Division, National Institute for Defense Studies
Yoshihide Soeya Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Law, Keio University
From Japanese government -- TBD

Topics:

Session 1: How the US and Japan address the security risk in Northeast Asia in 2021
What are security risks that the US and Japan are facing in Northeast Asia and around the region in 2021? Are they avoidable, and what actions are required for the US and Japan to avoid it?

Session 2: Can we establish the peaceful order based on rules and principles in Northeast Asia?
What are our tasks to stop a military conflict caused by China's assertive action and unexpected accident? Can we establish the peaceful order based on rules and principles in Northeast Asia? What efforts should Japan and the US make?