NUS LKYSPP CAG – Keio G-Sec Workshop, Keio University, Tokyo, January 16-17, 2017.

For the past month and a half I did a tour around Asia – from Singapore to Tokyo, to Seoul, to Bangkok, to Tokyo again, then back to Singapore. I was dispatched to Tokyo as part of the NUS-Keio Workshop, and spent two weeks of December and another two weeks in January in Tokyo Midtown.

In the first half of my Tokyo visit and Christmas/New Year holidays in Seoul, people greeted me, were interested in how my research is going, and asked what will happen in world affairs in the coming years. While in Seoul, I also visited George Mason University Korea in Songdo, which could be my next destination for the next two years after Singapore.

With colleagues of the writing workshop at HLS IGLP in Bangkok, January 5-11, 2017.

In Bangkok, I attended the Institute for Global Law and Policy Asian Regional Workshop held by Harvard Law School and hosted by the Thailand Institute of Justice to present my paper – a critique on South Korea’s Creative Economy agenda, written for NBR Asia Policy. Toward publication, I have received the most helpful comments I could ever have for revision. It was the first time I had stepped out of Singapore in Southeast Asia to witness how other countries function. Thailand, despite its complex politics (currently a military regime) was a booming land of culture, a blend of different religions, and ultimate respect for the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Through the discussions and conversations, it was not difficult to sense considerable policy influence that China has on Southeast Asian states.

Presenting ‘The Cautionary Tale of Market Power and Foreign Policy: The Geoeconomics of Renminbi Internationalization’.

I returned to Tokyo for the workshop, and the book chapter draft is being revised for inclusion in the book publication. I hope that, at a time when we don’t know what the future brings for us in this world, my writing can help those who seek to understand the dynamics of power shift that is occurring.