Parallel Session A – Transnational-Geopolitical Security Nexus in the Asia Pacific

This session will examine how transnational threats increasingly intersect with geopolitical competition, domestic politics, and unsettled border issues. Panelists will consider the expansion of illicit economies, cyber-enabled scam operations, human and drug trafficking, arms smuggling, climate change, and environmental challenges such as those in the lower Mekong, as well as how political instability and undue external influence enable these challenges to persist.