[Event] World Order Lab’s Global Order, Statecraft, and Contemporary Security Discourse #3
In the first two weeks of May 2026 have produced two defining diplomatic moments that together frame the strategic environment confronting Southeast Asia. ASEAN leaders convened in Cebu, Philippines on May 8, 2026, for the 48th ASEAN Summit under the Philippines' chairship and the theme "Navigating Our Future, Together," reflecting a collective resolve to steer ASEAN through an evolving regional and global landscape. Simultaneously, on May 14–15, President Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing against the backdrop of a consequential shift in economic power, with the center of gravity toward the magnet supply chains underpinning modern military capability and advanced manufacturing. Together, the Cebu and Beijing summits bookend a pivotal moment of simultaneous regional self-assertion and superpower realignment.
To examine how Southeast Asia navigates the strategic aftershocks of the recent two defining summits, the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu and the Trump-Xi Beijing Summit, the World Order Lab, under its G-2 Affairs Working Group, is organizing a webinar entitled “Southeast Asia in the Wake of the Summits: Implications of U.S.-China Relations.” The webinar will discuss the outcomes and limitations of both gatherings, the destabilizing shadow cast by the Taiwan question over regional security, and the deepening dilemma facing ASEAN states caught between superpower confrontation and a potential G-2 arrangement that bypasses regional interests.
Event Details:
Date: Friday, May 22, 2026
Time:
8:30 AM to 10.00 AM (Washington/Ottawa time - EDT)
7:30 PM to 9:00 PM (Jakarta/Bangkok/Hanoi time - GMT+7)
8:30 PM to 10:00 PM (Philippines/Singapore/Malaysia time - GMT+8)
Venue: Online via Zoom Meeting
We are pleased to be joined by brilliant panelists, including:
Japhet Quitzon - Associate Fellow, Southeast Asia Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies; and
Josephine Pau - Senior Analyst (Coordinator), East Asia Desk & Interim Deputy Chair of G-2 Affairs, World Order Lab;
The webinar will be moderated by Vu Phuong Linh, Senior Analyst (Coordinator), Southeast Asia Desk & Interim Deputy Chair of G-2 Affairs Working Group, World Order Lab. It will be conducted in English and is open to World Order Lab members and the general public.
Register here: https://forms.gle/Nxj6Y4TnS9V3xFhF7.
Learn more about the event: Concept Note & Program
For more information, please contact us at info@worldorderlab.com.
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World Order Lab is a youth-driven think-tank dedicated to advancing rigorous analysis and producing high-impact insights on Southeast Asia's most pressing security and governance challenges. We are strictly nonpartisan and non-profit initiative.