The Consulate General of the United States, Chennai in collaboration with the Department of International Studies, Political Science and History organized the event “South Asia and Indo-Pacific: The Way Forward”. The guest speaker for the lecture was Ambassador Daniel Shields, former U.S. Ambassador to Brunei & Former Diplomatic Advisor to the Commandant at the U.S. Army War College. The program commenced with the welcome address by Dr. Madhumati Deshpande, thanking the Ambassador for his acceptance to shed the light of knowledge upon the students of Christ University.
The program was filled with various issues highlighted by the Ambassador in the Indo-Pacific region. The role of the United States in forming the QUAD and its thought on the “Freedom to exercise” in the seas was highlighted. The ambassador also quoted several instances where the Chinese Army posed a threat to the region and not only in the Indo-Pacific but also in the South Asian region focused by the United States on security matters. The future prospects of the relations with other countries in South Asia and the Pacific rim were discussed wherein further strengthening of ties with the United States was seen as a convincible action.
The lecture was followed up by a Q&A session. Students from MAIS, HEP, and Ph.D. scholars, were interacting with the ambassador with enthusiasm. Faculties from the department also joined in the session to gain a better understanding of the subject matter from a US perspective. Several topics like the AUKUS deal, Climate Change, SCO, US’s response to the Arctic sea route, US’s involvement in the present Sri Lankan crisis,, etc., were discussed with the speaker. A couple of other questions were pitched with specific topics related to China like the US’s reaction to the recently escalated relations between China & Solomon Islands, the Chinese threat to the Pacific Islands etc. The ambassador was gracious enough and was very excited in answering every question. The insights provided by the ambassador were very helpful for academicians & students in a way that current affairs and strategic relations with the United States were understandable from a bureaucrat’s point of view and the handling of diplomacy from a diplomat’s standpoint.
The event concluded with a Vote of Thanks given by Prof. MJ Vinod, Department of ISPH. The lecture left the audience with thought-provoking insights to think about USA’s course of action in the future with respect to the regions of South Asia and the Indo-Pacific.
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