16th Asia Pacific Programme for Senior Military Officers (APPSMO 2014)

This year’s theme The Changing Role of the Military addressed questions and issues on the core roles of armed forces today and in the near future.

Participants were encouraged to explore and discuss fundamental questions about what armed forces were for and how they should be structured and organised in a security environment that was rapidly evolving.

Each sub-theme and panel addressed salient developments and trends across the spectrum of operations and key domains as well as their potential impact on the military profession.

This event brought together  prominent speakers/scholars/practitioners in the field of military-security affairs to speak on the following topics.

Keynote Address

Speaker
Mr Chan Chun Sing
Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for Defence, Singapore

Session 1
“The Changing Dimensions of Strategy”

Speaker
Lieutenant General (Ret) Rhys Jones
Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit; and
Former Chief of Defence Force, New Zealand Defence Force

Chairperson
Professor Khong Yuen Foong
Professor of International Relations and Senior Research Advisor, RSIS

Session 2
“The Geopolitics of Asia-Pacific”

Speakers
Professor T. V. Paul
Ngee Ann Kongsi Professor of International Relations, RSIS; and
James McGill Professor of International Relations, McGill University

Major General (Ret) Zhu Chenghu
Professor, Academic Department of Strategic Studies, National Defence University, China

Chairperson
Dr Li Mingjiang
Associate Professor and Coordinator of the China Programme, IDSS, RSIS

Session 3
“The Challenge of Irregular Warfare”

Speakers
Professor Gérard Chaliand
Visiting Senior Fellow, RSIS

Dr Ahmed Hashim
Associate Professor, Military Studies Programme, IDSS, RSIS

Chairperson
Dr Kumar Ramakrishna
Associate Professor and Head, Centre of Excellence for National Security, RSIS

Session 4
“Civil-Military Cooperation in a Coalition Environment”

Speakers
Mr Jeremy England
Head, Regional Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross

Dr Greg Mills
Director of the Brenthurst Foundation

Chairperson
Dr Evan Resnick
Associate Professor and Coordinator of the United States Programme, IDSS, RSIS

Session 5
“Perceptions of the Military Profession”

Speakers
Associate Professor Panitan Wattanayagorn
Department of International Relations, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand

Professor Pascal Vennesson
Professor of Political Science, RSIS

Chairperson
Dr Ang Cheng Guan
Associate Professor and Head of Graduate Studies, RSIS

Session 6
“Cross-Domain Interoperability and Integration”

Speakers
Rear Admiral Giam Hock Koon
Commander, Maritime Security Task Force, Singapore Armed Forces

Mr Richard Bitzinger
Senior Fellow and Coordinator of the Military Transformations Programme, IDSS, RSIS

Chairperson
Mr Eddie Lim
Senior Fellow and Coordinator of the Military Studies Programme, RSIS

Plenary Session

Moderator
Dr Leonard Sebastian
Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Indonesia Programme, IDSS, RSIS

Distinguished Lunch Talk
“Security Challenges in the Asia Pacific Region”

Speaker
Lieutenant General William Stevenson
Chief Executive, Malaysian Institute of Defence and Security

Chairperson
Dr Ralf Emmers
Associate Professor and Associate Dean, RSIS

Distinguished Lunch Talk
“U.S. Land Forces in the Pacific; Rebalance, Roles and Relationships”

Speaker
Major General Gary Hara
Deputy Commanding General, Army National Guard, U.S. Army Pacific

Chairperson
Brigadier General (Ret) Jimmy Tan
Director, SAF-NTU Academy, Nanyang Technological University

Distinguished Dinner Talk
“East Asia in Transition”

Speaker
Ambassador Bilahari Kausikan
Ambassador-at-Large and Policy Advisor
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore

Chairperson

Ambassador Barry Desker
Dean, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies; and
Director, Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies

APPSMO 2014 Reading Materials (For Participants Only)

Organised by IDSS Military Studies Programme and RSIS Events Unit.