The ERIA School of Government aims to provide a dedicated platform for discussing global geopolitical developments and the defining challenges of our time from Southeast Asia's regional perspective. Its objective is to ensure that ASEAN Member States and their regional partners play an active role in shaping the geopolitical landscape during this era of transformation.

Through the ERIA–ASEAN AOIP Lecture Series, the initiative seeks to strengthen ASEAN's agency in shaping regional and global narratives while reinforcing the Indo-Pacific as a strategic space for dialogue, cooperation, and inclusive engagement. By convening high-level leaders, policymakers, and distinguished experts from across the region and beyond, the lecture series aims to position ASEAN as a central hub for strategic dialogue on regional and global developments, while facilitating constructive engagement with external partners.

Anchored in the principles of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), adopted in 2019, the regional framework has gained renewed strategic importance in light of intensifying great power competition and the conflicts in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. The Indo-Pacific region has benefited from relative peace and stability over recent decades. The time has therefore come to reinforce the norms and approaches that the region has carefully developed and implemented, while collectively addressing the challenge of preserving and enhancing regional stability and resilience.

The lecture series emphasises ASEAN's approach, which is founded on openness, inclusiveness, dialogue, cooperation, and mutual respect, while moving beyond narratives centred primarily on major power competition. The initiative seeks to amplify perspectives from within the region itself and promote open, outward-looking engagement with key Indo-Pacific partners. Through keynote lectures and interactive discussions, the ERIA–ASEAN AOIP Lecture Series will provide participants with opportunities to deepen their understanding of regional dynamics, exchange diverse perspectives, and build policy-relevant networks capable of addressing contemporary geopolitical challenges collaboratively.

We are honoured to launch this lecture series with an inaugural address by His Excellency Dr Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of ASEAN, who has consistently championed the region's principles of openness, inclusiveness, and dialogue during an increasingly challenging geopolitical period.

The inaugural event will be followed by a special symposium commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP), first advocated by the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2016. Co-hosted by JIIA and ERIA, the symposium will bring together leading experts to revisit both the AOIP and FOIP in the context of today's evolving geopolitical landscape, while exploring greater convergence and synergies between the two frameworks.

The symposium underscores the importance of a regional vision founded upon inclusiveness, ASEAN centrality, dialogue-driven engagement, and openness. It also highlights that this vision continues to be shaped by the agency and leadership of stakeholders within the region, particularly ASEAN.

In her policy address in February 2026, Prime Minister Takaichi reaffirmed the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) as a cornerstone of Japanese diplomacy, describing it as entering a phase of 'strategic evolution'. This updated approach focuses on strengthening economic foundations through the development of data infrastructure and resilient critical supply chains; creating new growth opportunities through public–private partnerships; and expanding Japan's Official Security Assistance (OSA) and Official Development Assistance (ODA).

The Joint Statement of the 28th Japan–ASEAN Summit, held in Kuala Lumpur in October 2025, marked a significant reaffirmation of shared regional objectives. Both sides committed to strengthening the implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), upholding the principles of ASEAN centrality and solidarity, respecting the UN Charter and international law, and fostering a regional order that is open, inclusive, transparent, and rules-based. Importantly, the Summit recognised that the FOIP and AOIP are complementary frameworks that share common principles.

Building on this shared understanding, the symposium will provide a high-level platform to discuss practical measures for maximising synergies between the two frameworks. Discussions will focus on strengthening economic partnerships and enhancing regional connectivity in response to evolving geopolitical and strategic dynamics; shaping the future direction of economic development in the Indo-Pacific amid rapid technological change; promoting regional stability through de-risking rather than decoupling; and advancing cooperation in strategic infrastructure sectors, including digitalisation and decarbonisation. Through these discussions, the symposium aims to generate new ideas and practical strategies to further strengthen the complementary relationship between the FOIP and AOIP.