The annual Symposium on East Asia Security, an intensive program for security and defense officials from the Asia-Pacific region, offers participants the opportunity to share perspectives on security issues of importance to their nations, says John E. Lundin, senior U.S. adviser for the program. The three-week symposium, sponsored by the U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM) and the Department of State, begins in Hawaii and then travels to two or three Asian nations. The initiative seeks "to identify emerging issues in regional security and areas of future cooperation among nations of the region," says Lundin, Public Diplomacy Adviser, USPACOM.

On an idyllic Hawaiian day in May 1999, 21 military officers and security specialists from 16 Asia-Pacific nations and the United States met in Honolulu on the island of Oahu, which is nicknamed "the gathering place," to participate in the Symposium on East Asia Security. This annual three-week program, sponsored jointly by the commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM) and the U.S. Department of State, begins in Hawaii and then resumes in two or three Asian countries. An excellent example of peacetime military engagement, the symposium is one of the many ways USPACOM works toward the peacetime goal of making conflicts and crises less likely.

Three weeks after their first meeting in Hawaii, the 21 officials came together again on the deck of the U.S. Seventh Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge at Yokosuka, Japan, for a remembrance photograph with their Navy hosts. They had shared many common experiences while traveling as a group, eating together, participating in many briefings, and visiting military facilities during their program. But, most importantly, they had listened to and questioned each other.

Members of SEAS 99 pose with Navy hosts aboard the USS Blue Ridge at Yokosuka Navy Base.

The 17 nations represented were: China, Republic of Korea, Mongolia, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, and the United States. Each participant brought to the symposium his or her own country's view of security issues in the region. And all of them carried away not only a better understanding of the U.S. military presence in the Asia-Pacific, but a broader perception of security issues from a regional perspective and a better comprehension of the security concerns of their Asia-Pacific neighbors.

At the start of the symposium all of the military officers and civilian security specialists presented "country reports" in which they shared the security concerns of their nations. The informality and hospitality of Hawaii provided the perfect setting for helping the participants to start communicating with each other and begin frank and stimulating discussion. During the course of the symposium, which was reconvened in the Republic of Korea and Japan after the opening session in Hawaii, participants examined security from the perspectives of the Republic of Korea, Japan, and the United States, as well as from the viewpoints of the other countries represented by the participants. They explored the interrelationships of economic, political, social, and environmental factors, and also traditional and non-traditional threats. They listened to U.S. and host-nation views on the U.S. presence in the region and saw for themselves the forward deployment of U.S. forces in the Pacific.

As a result of the symposium, participants forged another important bond that stretches over the vast Pacific and the islands and continents of Asia: They became part of a network of security policy-makers who know each other and are able to consult in times of peace or times of crisis. Although the participants certainly did not conclude the program in complete agreement with each other on every issue, they began a dialogue that would continue long after their return home.

The Symposium on East Asia Security, often simply called SEAS, was first held in 1986 with 17 participants from nine countries, including the United States. During the past 14 years, as many as 19 countries and 28 participants have taken part in the annual symposium. To date, SEAS has an alumni of 292 professionals in 24 nations in the Asia-Pacific region. The intensive three-week program is designed for Asia-Pacific security and defense professionals, both military and civilian, who are in -- or will enter -- policy-making positions. The United States, the Republic of Korea, and Japan -- and usually a fourth country -- are included on the program agenda. In the past the fourth stop often has been Singapore. The program allows participants to experience a visit to the DMZ (demilitarized zone) on the Korean Peninsula and to view firsthand forward-deployed U.S. forces in the Republic of Korea and Japan, thereby offering them the occasion to witness the U.S. commitment and capabilities in the region. Equally important during these visits is the opportunity to consult with host-nation defense officials and foreign ministry officials and to engage in discussions with representatives of security think tanks in the host countries.

In keeping with the desire to stimulate frank and open discussion, the program is conducted informally, and all sessions are off-the-record. Uniforms are not worn and protocol is kept to a minimum. The 1999 group included very senior officials at the defense ministerial level, who were met at airports along the way by senior embassy and consular officials. But the symposium's camaraderie was such that these high-level officials opted to stay with the group and ride with them in the buses that had been provided rather than in the embassy sedans that had been offered for the officials' private use.

The agenda for the 1999 symposium illustrates the substantive and diverse activities that the SEAS program involves. In Hawaii, the symposium began with briefings by senior commanders at the headquarters of the commander-in-chief, USPACOM, and at the headquarters of the component commands -- Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. Participants also visited ships at Pearl Harbor and witnessed Marine demonstrations at Kaneohe Bay. Important aspects of the program were roundtable discussions on regional security issues at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu and a special session on traditional and non-traditional security issues, presented by James Kelly, president of the Pacific Forum CSIS (Center for Strategic and International Studies), and retired Navy Admiral Eric McVadon.

In view of diminishing traditional political boundaries and the impact of globalization, exploration early in the symposium of the wide-ranging issues that affect a nation's security planning -- especially such issues as environmental and humanitarian concerns -- was particularly useful to set the stage for later discussions. But the symposium was not all work, and the participants attended various social functions, including a Hawaiian luau or feast to sample the unique cultural traditions of Hawaii.

The final leg of the 1999 SEAS symposium was the visit to Japan, whose security alliance with the United States remains crucial to stability in the region. In both Japan and the Republic of Korea, symposium members met with the U.S. ambassadors who serve there for a review of U.S. security relations with the two countries and U.S. perspectives on regional issues. A highlight for the group was a briefing and lunch on board the U.S. Seventh Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge, where participants learned more about the role of U.S. forward-deployed forces in maintaining peace and stability in the region. Japan's efforts to build a more stable region were spotlighted in discussions at the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) with officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Japan Defense Agency, and JIIA. At the National Institute for Defense Studies, discussions focused on the Korean Peninsula and the implications for Japan.

One of the highlights of the 1999 symposium was a Cooperative Decision-Making Game in which the participants took part while in Japan. They were divided into teams and presented with a hypothetical crisis that involved the nations of the region in a situation that required international cooperation to resolve. The extent of the participants' engagement in the problem-solving process, their thoughtful approach, and their ideas impressed all of the coordinators, especially the staff of the Gaming and Simulation Division of USPACOM, who conducted the exercise.

The Symposium on East Asia Security is one example of how USPACOM seeks to lessen the potential for conflicts and crises. Through this and other engagement programs, including those of the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, the command is working to identify emerging issues in regional security and areas of future cooperation among nations of the region. If initiatives like SEAS can help strengthen confidence and security among nations, the Asia-Pacific community will benefit and prosper.