Rob Yates reports from the UK- ASEAN Relations IdeasLab event in Bangkok3 October 2023On 6th July 2023 the ‘UK- ASEAN Relations: Towards sustainable, enduring, and equitable partnerships’ IdeasLab took place at the Asia Centre in Bangkok, Thailand. Supported by the University of Bristol’s Global Insecurities Centre, University of Leeds’s Centre for Global Security Challenges, and the Yokosuka Council for Asia-Pacific Studies, the IdeasLab brought together 30 practitioners and researchers working in government, research and civil society sectors across Southeast Asia. It discussed UK engagement with the region, and served as a follow up to an earlier event in Bristol on implementing the UK’s Indo-Pacific tilt and Southeast Asia.
The Global Insecurities Centre, University of Bristol are holding an IdeasLab on ‘UK-ASEAN Relations’ in Bangkok on 6th July.21 March 2023The UK introduced its Indo-Pacific ‘tilt’ in its 2021 Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy. In its 2023 follow-up refresh, the UK points to how the tilt has been achieved, and sets forth its intention to make this increased engagement stronger and enduring, and a permanent pillar of the UK’s international policy. ASEAN features as a key partner in the region, with the UK also highlighting its support for ASEAN Centrality.