Sasakawa Peace Foundation

日本語
  • About SPF
    • About Us
      • About Us
      • History
      • Program Policy and Five Priority Goals
      • Board Members
      • Diversity and Inclusion
      • Financial Position
      • Honorary Chair's Message Archive
      • Activities Before 2017
    • President's Message
    • Brochure and Annual Report
    • Access
    • Idea Submission
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
  • Experts
  • Programs
    • Japan-U.S. and Security Studies Unit
    • General Affairs and Networking Program
    • National Security and Japan-U.S. Program
    • Strategy and Deterrence Program
    • Asia and Middle East Unit
    • Strategic Dialogue and Exchange Program
    • Peacebuilding Program
    • Social Innovation Program
    • Sasakawa Japan-China Friendship Program
    • Ocean Policy Research Institute
    • Division of Ocean Vision and Action
    • Division of Island Nations
    • Scholarship Unit
    • Sasakawa Scholarship Program
  • Research & Analysis
    • Reports and Publications
    • Essays and Commentary
    • SPF Now Interviews
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
    • Browse by Regions
    • Regions
    • Americas
    • Northeast Asia
    • Southeast Asia
    • South Asia
    • Middle East
    • Oceania
    • Europe and Eurasia
    • Arctic
    • Africa
    • Satellite Sites
    • International Information Network Analysis
    • SPF China Observer
    • Asia Women Impact Fund
    • The OPRI Center of Island Studies
    • The Friends of WMU, Japan
    • SPF Insights into Japan–U.S. Relations
    • From the Oceans
    • Asia Peacebuilding Initiatives (APBI)
    • History of the Sasakawa Japan-China Friendship Program
      (Japanese language)
    • Japan-China Relations Data Graph (Japanese language)
  • News
    • News
    • Press Releases
    • SPF Newsletter
    • Media Coverage
  • Events
News FY 2025

Event Report: Public Forum
Europe’s role in Indo-Pacific
-Lithuania’s contribution-

Japan-U.S. and Security Studies Unit


June 4, 2025
On Wednesday, May 28, the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, in cooperation with the Embassy of Lithuania to Japan, hosted a public forum welcoming Her Excellency Dovilė Šakalienė, Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Lithuania.
 
As a member of the EU and NATO, Lithuania has been playing an active international role, including in Indo-Pacific region. In 2023, Lithuania formulated its first-ever "Indo-Pacific Strategy." Building on the recent security and defense engagement with like-minded partners in Indo-Pacific, Lithuania announced its “Strategy for Defense and Security Engagement in Indo-Pacific Region.”
 
During the forum, Minister Sakaiene delivered a lecture on the newly formulated defense strategy, followed by a discussion on Europe’s role and Lithuania’s contributions to the Indo-Pacific region with Sasakawa Peace Foundation Executive Director Nobukatsu Kanehara and Senior Fellow Tsuneo Watanabe.
At this forum, Minister of National Defense Dovilė Šakalienė presented a newly developed “Defense Strategy” and discussed Europe’s role and Lithuania’s contribution to the Indo-Pacific region. Minister Šakalienė with Mr. Nobukatsu Kanehara, SPF Executive Director, and Mr. Tsuneo “Nabe” Watanabe, SPF Senior Fellow.
Prior to the public forum, Mr.Kanehara, AMB(ret.) Nobushige Takamizawa, ADM(ret.) Tomohisa Takei, Mr. Watanabe, and RADM (ret.) Katsuya Yamamoto held discussions with Minister Sakalienė at the Lithuanian Embassy regarding the current international security situation.

Follow the link for the Strategy of Security and Defence Engagement in the Indo-Pacific Region.
https://kam.lt/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Strategy-for-security-and-Defence-Engagement-in-the-IP4.pd


News FY 2025
Share

Related Articles

Latest News

Essays and Commentary

IINA: 【Cooperation Between European and Indo-Pacific Powers in the U.S. alliance system project: Policy Paper Vol. 9】 Enhancing Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific Theater Cooperation: What Is NATO’s Role?

The NATO alliance is adapting to operate effectively in a complex, contested and unpredictable security environment characterized by strategic competition, persistent contestation across the peace-crisis-conflict continuum and pervasive instability. To ensure the security and defense of Allies, NATO needs to be able to credibly tackle multiple, global and interconnected threats and challenges and to account for the impact that conflict, crises and instability in other regions of the world could have on the Euro-Atlantic, its area of responsibility.

March 28, 2025
Essays and Commentary

IINA: 【Cooperation between European and Indo-Pacific Powers in the U.S. alliance system project: Policy Paper Vol. 8】 Cooperation by Design: The Implication of Maritime Connectivity for NATO and the Indo-Pacific Partnership

This paper argues that the partnership between NATO and Japan shifted from cooperation by chance to cooperation by design after 2001, when Japan suddenly expanded its cooperation with NATO due to common challenges in Afghanistan. The September 11 terrorist attacks dramatically changed the strategic landscape and transformed Japan’s position as the lead country of a pacifist foreign policy of demobilization, demilitarization, reintegration, and post-conflict reconstruction. One way to describe this partnership between NATO and Japan is cooperation by chance.

March 28, 2025
Essays and Commentary

IINA: 【Cooperation between European and Indo-Pacific Powers in the US alliance system project:Policy Paper Vol. 7】Navigating the Opportunities and Challenges in NATO–South Korea Defense Industrial Cooperation

This is a critical juncture for NATO and South Korea to strengthen their defense industrial ties. The security fronts in Europe and the Indo-Pacific are increasingly intertwined as North Korea and other actors contribute to Russia’s war in Ukraine, amplifying mutual interests and posing a direct threat to the security of the US alliance. Amid these shifting and dire security landscapes, NATO members and South Korea increasingly recognize the strategic value of defense industrial cooperation, which transcends economic considerations and the urgent need to restore stockpiles.

March 28, 2025
Browse Latest News

pagetop

Video Title

Footer

Sasakawa Peace Foundation

  • About SPF
  • News
  • Experts
  • Events
  • Programs
  • Access
  • Research & Analysis
  • Contact Us

Latest Updates

Receive regular updates about news, events, and research from the Sasakawa Peace Foundation

Sign Up to Our Newsletter

Satellite Sites

  • From the Oceans
  • The Friends of WMU Japan
  • Asia Women Impact Fund
  • Insights into Japan–U.S. Relations
  • International Information Network Analysis (IINA)
  • The OPRI Center of Island Studies
  • SPF China Observer
  • Asia Peacebuilding Initiatives (APBI)
  • History of the Sasakawa Japan-China Friendship Program (Japanese language)
  • Japan-China Relations Data Graph (Japanese language)
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SITE POLICY
  • SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY
  • SITE MAP
  • WEB ACCESSIBILITY POLICY

Copyright © 2021 The Sasakawa Peace Foundation. All Rights Reserved.