Navigating disruptions: New Zealand and the Indo-Pacific

On Monday 19 May 2025, the CSDS Japan Chair hosted a closed-door meeting with Prof David Capie, the Director of the Centre for Strategic Studies and Professor of International Relations at the Victoria University of Wellington. The discussion focused on the evolving strategic dynamic in the Indo-Pacific, the impact of the new US administration’s policies and New Zealand’s efforts to navigate an increasingly volatile security environment. Given the many shared interests and concerns, it further looked at possibilities for enhancing cooperation with Europe, NATO and other like-minded regional partners, especially Japan.

The meeting was part of the “Japan Chair Cluster” series, which bring together Brussels-based experts and policy practitioners from the EU institutions, NATO, as well as relevant Embassy representatives interested in Japan and the broader Indo-Pacific region. The Cluster meets on an ad hoc basis when experts, academics and officials from the region visit Brussels, presenting their research and sharing their insights in a closed-door, informal fashion. The aim of the meetings is to inform the European policy community, raise awareness and steer the debate for regional security challenges, as well as to facilitate inter-personal exchanges to support Europe’s engagement with Japan and the Indo-Pacific.