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Europe must act quickly to ensure its economic security in the face of current threats. The European Commission has proposed defensive measures, but debates persist about the best approach. How can Europe effectively coordinate its actions to guarantee its economic security, and what role does international cooperation play in this strategy?
At a time when the major powers are adopting the language of economic security, this note identifies five major strategic issues that deserve to be placed at the heart of the debate.
Institut Montaigne is partnering with the Institute of Geoeconomics (IOG) to co-host a public conference in Tokyo, titled: "The Indo-Pacific, an opportunity for our economic security strategies?".
The conference will be held on Monday, June 3, 2024 and will be livestreamed (please register here).
This event marks the third international conference organized within the framework of the Observatory of Multilateralism in the Indo-Pacific, an initiative of the French Ministry for Armed Forces (DGRIS). Institut Montaigne, alongside two other prominent French think tanks—the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS) and the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)—as well as Sciences Po and Inalco, contributes to this significant research program.
Through its work program and this conference, Institut Montaigne aims to bridge the gap between Indo-Pacific strategies and economic security policies.
Currently, economic security remains loosely integrated into the strategies of the main regional players. Yet, most economic security issues have a possible Indo-Pacific angle: trade and investment diversification to ensure supply chain security, gaps in technology transfer control regimes, and responses to risks of economic coercion.
This conference will shed light on the areas of convergence and divergence between France and its Indo-Pacific partners. It will also highlight the extent to which defense cooperation is conducive to greater economic security.
The event will begin with a keynote address by Rear Admiral Jacques Rivière, High Representative for the Indian Pacific area of the French joint commander of the Asia Pacific zone and armed forces in French Polynesia (ALPACI – COMSUP POLYNESIA). Throughout the day, we will convene around fifteen high-level speakers from government, industry, universities and think-tanks of the Indo-Pacific region in three panel discussions (please see the tentative agenda of the conference below).
To discover our publications on economic security: institutmontaigne.org/en/international-affairs
Registration for the livestream: https://events.blackthorn.io/092Xuyt7/4a2IbFgaQT
If you wish to attend the event in-person in Tokyo, please write to clemoine@institutmontaigne.org.
9:00-9:15 (Japan Standard Time, UTC+9) Introductory remarks:
09:15-10:15 (UTC+9) Keynote speech: Rear Admiral (R) Jacques Rivière, High Representative for the Indian Pacific area of the French joint commander of the Asia Pacific zone and Armed Forces in French Polynesia (ALPACI – COMSUP POLYNESIA)
10:30–12:00 (UTC+9) Panel 1: Is the Indo-Pacific a Relevant Scale to Develop Economic Security Policy Frameworks?Scope: France, the European Union and Japan have all developed economic security policy frameworks, but they are so far loosely connected to their Indo-Pacific strategies. Is this a missed opportunity? In which policy areas can a robust Indo-Pacific strategy advance our economic security agenda? From another angle, economic security cooperation is progressing in various formats in the Indo-Pacific region, especially through IPEF and the Quad’s supply chain resilience initiative. The panel will seek to take stock of progress through those formats.
12:00–14:00: Break
14:00–15:30 (UTC+9) Panel 2: Supply Chain Resilience and the Military: Risks and Opportunities in the Indo-PacificScope: Diversification and "friend-shoring" are key policy tools when it comes to boosting supply chain resilience for critical raw materials and strategic industries. For France, Europe and Japan, to what extent is this already happening? This will be the starting point of this panel, which will explore a currently under-examined area of economic security agendas: the role of the military, both as a customer of the arms industry with specific supply chain considerations, and as an organization that can enhance supply chain security, through technology alliances, joint production, or by setting standards.
16:00–17:30 (UTC+9) Panel 3: Critical Infrastructure Across the Indo-PacificScope: Critical infrastructure is part of European and Japanese visions of economic security, with a focus on protecting one’s cyber and physical infrastructure from excessive foreign leverage or other vulnerabilities. In the Indo-Pacific, Europe and Japan are partners for all states seeking to develop their own critical infrastructure, from digital to transportation. What has been achieved so far and are the EU and Japan achieving sufficiently? This panel will look at several sectors and cases: submarine cables, 5G, climate and energy.
17:30–17:45 (UTC+9) Concluding remarks: The Role Of Armed Forces