Japan's Maritime Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific

On 19 July 2013, in cooperation with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Stimson Center, CNAS hosted the inaugural event of its Maritime Security Project: a half-day conference on “Japan’s Maritime Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region.” Held at the Willard Hotel in Washington, DC, the event brought together a star lineup of U.S. and Japanese experts on Japan, its various partner countries, and maritime security in Asia writ large. Distinguished Japanese speakers included Vice Admiral Hideaki Kaneda, JMSDF (Ret.); Professor Ken Jimbo of Keio University and Professor Ryo Sahashi of Kanagawa University. After opening remarks on the strategic environment in maritime Asia by the Honorable Robert Work, Dr. Patrick Cronin and Dr. Ely Ratner, all from CNAS, the morning was split into two panel discussions. The first panel, moderated by Yuki Tatsumi of the Stimson Center, was on Japan-India and Japan-Australia Maritime Cooperation and featured VADM Kaneda and Professor Sahashi as speakers. Commodore Lee Cordner, RAN (Ret.) of the Indo-Pacific Governance Research Center and Professors James Holmes and Thomas Mahnken of the U.S. Naval War College acted as discussants. Professor Ken Jimbo acted as speaker for the second panel, which dealt with Japan’s cooperation with ASEAN countries and the Republic of Korea. James Schoff of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace moderated the discussion and Dr. Satu Limaye of the East-West Center and Rear Admiral Michael McDevitt, USN (Ret.) of the Center for Naval Analyses acted as discussants. The discussion was rich, informative, and spirited, and clarified fruitful avenues for further discussion and inquiry.