Members are free to participate in working groups, seminars/webinars and research symposium/colloquium, and virtual events.
The Forum reserves the right to decline the registration or the membership.
Members are predominantly former and current politicians, military leaders, ambassadors/diplomats, academic and community leaders, NGO leaders. To register, please complete the registration form below.
As a non-profit forum, we crowdsource. During our events, participants are welcome to take photos, without interrupting the sessions, and share their best photos with us.
Coming soon!
APSI Forum Horizon Circle
APSI Forum often holds informal meetings with ambassadors, MPs, military leaders, political leaders, and leading scholars in civil and international security
Next meeting:
Understanding the Indo-Pacific
Time and date TBA
Social Innovation Hub, APSI Center of Excellence
Time: 6-8pm NZST
Date: 20th of November 2021
Venue: Papamoa, New Zealand
PROJECT SYMPOSIUM, APSI Center of Excellence
HUMAN SECURITY: THEORY AND PRACTICE
December 12, 2021
6-7 pm
Venue: Kamana lakehouse, Queenstown
PAST EVENTS
SEMINAR AND PANEL DISCUSSION SERIES
Maritime Security and Competing Interests in the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean
What are the key strategic challenges for maritime security in the region?
What are the strategic ambitions of the key players?
In what ways can conflict in the South China Sea be managed?
In what ways will Sino-Indian Relations in the Indian Ocean lead to conflict?
Date: 25th of February 2021
Venue: Oaks Hotel Wellington, 89 Courtenay Pl, Wellington
8am-2.30pm
Chair:
MGen (Ret) Gert-Johannes Hagemann, APSI Forum
Speakers:
Dr Andrew Dowse, Director Defence Research and Engagement at Edith Cowan University
Hunter Stires, Fellow at Hattendorf Center for Maritime Historical Research, U.S. Naval War College
Sergeant Major (Ret) Anthony Spadaro, APSI Forum and Center of Excellence
LtGen (Ret) Vinod Bhatia, Former Director of Centre For Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS), India
MGen (Ret) Ravi Arora, CEO and Chief Editor Indian Military Review
Distinguished participants:
Brooke van Velden, Act Party Deputy Leader
Bill Chen, Representative from Taiwan
HE Dr Jesus Domingo, Philippine Ambassador to New Zealand, Cook Islands, Fiji, Niue, Samoa &Tonga
Dr Vira Ratsyborynska, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Dr Chandra Pandey, Kathmandu University
Dr Mamadou Bah, Research Contributor, APSI COE
Professor Dwi Andreas Santosa, Bogor Institute of Agriculture, Indonesia
8.30am-9am: Arrival coffee and tea
9am-9.05 am: Waiata, National anthem and karakia
9.05am-9.15am: Welcoming address
9.15am - 11.15am: PANEL I
Hunter Stires
Sergeant Major (Ret) Anthony Spadaro
11.15am- 12pm: Morning tea and APSI Forum monthly meeting
12pm-12.30pm: Lunch break
12.30pm-2.15pm: PANEL II
Dr Andrew Dowse
LtGen (Ret) Vinod Bhatia
MGen (Ret) Ravi Arora
2.15pm-2.30pm: Concluding Remarks
Working Group Series, APSI Forum
WORKING GROUP SERIES:
Asia's Powers and Middle East Arms Race: Trends and Non-proliferation Efforts
Date: 28th of January 2021
Venue: Novotel Hotel, 133 The Terrace, Wellington
Facilitators:
Dr Anita Abbott, APSI Forum
MGen (Ret) Gert-Johannes Hagemann, APSI Forum
Sergeant Major (Ret) Anthony Spadaro, APSI Forum
8am-8.15am: Staff Briefing
8.15am-8.30am: Arrival coffee and tea
8.30am- 8.45am: Waiata, National anthem and karakia : Harry Lazarus
8.45am-9am: Opening remarks: Maxwell Abbott, Global Partnership and Development Ltd
9am-10am : The proliferation of WMD and dual-use materials in the Middle East: A European Perspective
Speaker: Dr Ian Anthony, Programme Director, European Security Programme, SIPRI
10am-10.15am: Morning tea break
10.15am-11.15am: Potential application of nuclear deterrence theory to the proliferation of WMD in the Middle East
Speaker: Miles Pomper, Senior Fellow, James Martin Center for Non-Proliferation Studies
11.15am-11.45am: Panel discussion: Asia and the Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict
Chair: MGen (Ret) Hagemann
11.45am-12.15pm : Panel discussion: China's nuclear approach in Iran
Chair: Dr Anita Abbott
12.15-1pm: Lunch break
1pm-2.30pm: NPT and Non NPT states: India and Pakistan
Chair: Sergeant Major (Ret) Anthony Spadaro
Speakers:
Dr. Mansoor Ahmed, Senior Research Fellow at Center for International Strategic Studies, Pakistan
LtGen (Ret) Vinod Bhatia, Director of Centre For Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS), India
2.30pm: Concluding Remarks
Distinguished participants:
His Excellency Dr Jesus Domingo, Philippine Ambassador to New Zealand, Cook Islands, Fiji, Niue, Samoa &Tonga
His Excellency Mr Grzegorz Kowal, Polish Ambassador
Bill Chen, Representative from Taiwan
WORKING GROUP SERIES:
Nuclear Security Challenges and Strategic Arms Reduction in the Asia-Pacific region
Date: November 5, 2020
Venue: Novotel Hotel, 133 The Terrace, Wellington Central, Wellington
Facilitator: Dr Anita Abbott, APSI Forum
8am-8.15am: Staff Briefing
8.15am-8.30am: Arrival coffee and tea
8.30am- 8.45am: Waiata, National anthem and karakia
8.45am-9am: Opening remarks
9am-10am
Speaker: Guy Roberts, Former US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, Biological Defense Programs
10am-10.15am: Morning tea break
10.15am-11.15am: Emerging military technologies and their potential future impact on the strategic balance in the Asia-Pacific region
Speaker: James Faist, Director of Defense Research and Engineering for Advanced Capabilities, Office of the US Secretary of Defense
11.15am-11.30am: Annual meeting (APSI committee and advisory board ONLY)
11.30am-12.30 pm: Lunch break
12.30-1pm: Nuclear risks and opportunities: A global round-up
Speaker: Dr James Acton, co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
1pm-1.30 pm: Commentaries
Northeast Asian democracies and potential proliferation triggers
Speakers: Dr Anita Abbott and Sergeant Major (Ret) Anthony A. Spadaro, APSI Forum
1.30pm-2.30 pm: Is India's Policy on Use of Nuclear Weapons Credible?
Speaker: Major General Ravi Arora, CEO and Chief Editor 'Indian Military Review'
2.30pm-3.30pm: China and India-Pakistan nuclear arsenals
2.30pm-3pm: Arms Race Instability in South Asia: Trends and Trajectories
Speaker: Dr Mansoor Ahmed, Senior Research Fellow at Center for International Strategic Studies, Pakistan
3pm-3.30pm: China-Pakistan Nuclear Relations
Speaker: Dr Priyanka Singh, Associate Fellow, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), India
3.30pm-4pm: Concluding Remarks
Distinguished guests:
His Excellency Dr Jesus Domingo, Philippine Ambassador to New Zealand, Cook Islands, Fiji, Niue, Samoa &Tonga
Bill Chen, Representative from Taiwan
Chris Penk, National MP
James McDowall, MP, ACT, party spokesperson for Foreign Affairs
APSI Forum Working Group Series
29-30 July, Queenstown, New Zealand
COPTHORNE HOTEL AND RESORT QUEENSTOWN LAKEVIEW
88 Frankton Road, Queenstown
Defence Against Biological Agents
Addressing military, political, scientific, and legal challenges in biological defence
July 29
12.30pm-12.40pm: National Anthem and Karakia
12.40pm-1pm: Welcoming address: Mike Theelen, Chief Executive, Queenstown Lakes District council
1pm-1.30pm: Strategic Foresight Analysis: Potential biological weapons threats
Facilitator: Dr Anita Abbott, Committee Chair, APSI Forum
1.30pm-2.30pm: Biological weapons: Past, present, and future
Speaker: Dr Seth Carus, Emeritus Distinguished Professor of National Security Policy at the Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction
Presentation by SKYPE
2.30pm-2.45pm: Afternoon tea break
2.45pm-3.45pm: Biological warfare and the future of the Law of Armed Conflict
Speaker: Prof. Sascha Dov Bachmann, Professor in Law at Canberra Law School
Presentation by SKYPE
3.45pm-4.15pm: Bio-defence alliance
Speaker:
His Excellency Mr. Zbigniew Gniatkowski, Ambassador, Embassy of the Republic of Poland
(Polish perspective)
4.15pm-4.45pm: Foreign Affairs and Defence Challenges
Speaker: Simon O'Connor, Chair of the Foreign Affairs, Defence, and Trade committee
4.45pm-5pm: Closing Remarks: Brett Murphy
7pm: Dinner at Millennium Hotel
July 30
8.30am-9am: Biodefense: Trends and Challenges
Speaker: Major General Gert-Johannes Hagemann, Deputy Commander of Headquarters. Rapid Reaction Corps (HQ RRC-FR) in Lille, France
Live webinar/Skype
9am-10am: Foreign policy and biochemical terrorism
Speaker: Tracy Walder, Author, former CIA officer and FBI special agent, and worked at the Agency's Counterterrorism Center Weapons of Mass Destruction Group
10am-10.30am: Morning tea break
10.30am-11.30pm: Measures for controlling the threat from biological weapons
Speaker: Hon. Andrew C. Weber, Former US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs; Senior Fellow at the Council on Strategic Risks.
Presentation by SKYPE
11.30am-12.30pm: China's Biological Warfare Programme: An Integrative Study With Special Reference to Biological Weapons Capabilities
Contributor: Dr Dany Shoham, Biological Weapons expert, Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, Visiting Fellow at IDSA New Delhi
12.30pm-1.30pm: Lunch
1.30pm-3pm: Risk Management and Emergency Preparedness
Speakers:
Gillian Somerville, Human Factors Engineer, GES consulting
Dr. Barnaby Pace, Human Factors Psychologist
3pm-3.10pm: Afternoon tea break
3.10pm-4.10pm: National security threat perception embedded in biological threat
Speaker: His Excellency Dr Itzhak Gerberg, Ambassador, Embassy of Israel in New Zealand
4.10pm-4.40pm: Strategic Communication
The role of media in the event of a bioterrorist act
Speaker: Brett Murphy, Asia-Pacific Security Innovation Forum
4.40pm-4.50pm: Closing Remarks: Dr Anita Abbott