Former leaders of Japan, Estonia to speak at security forum in Taipei

Taipei, Aug. 6 (CNA) Two former prime ministers, from Japan and Estonia, will address the annual Indo-Pacific security forum when it opens in Taipei on Tuesday, according to Taiwan's foreign ministry.

The two keynote speeches will be delivered by Taro Aso, a senior Diet member who served as Japan's prime minister 2008-2009; and Andrus Ansip, a European Union parliamentarian and Estonia prime minister 2014-2019, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said in a press release Sunday.

The one-day annual Ketagalan Forum, organized by the Taiwan government and think tanks, will focus on regional and global security issues, with current and former officials, scholars and experts from various countries discussing traditional and non-traditional threats and challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, MOFA said.

The topics this year, divided into three panels, will highlight the challenges in cross-strait and global security order; the impact of information warfare on democracy; and Taiwan's role in the reconstruction of the international supply chain, the ministry said.

The invited guests will include Japanese Diet member Keisuke Suzuki and former American diplomat Daniel Russel, who specialized in East Asian affairs and is now vice president for International Security and Diplomacy at the U.S.-based Asia Society Policy Institute, according to MOFA.

In total, 14 lawmakers, former government officials, and scholars from 12 countries will attend the forum, the ministry said, naming also Lithuanian parliamentarian Vilius Semeška; Karambir Singh, chairman of the India-based think tank National Maritime Foundation; and Isaac Ben-Israel, a professor who founded the Tel-Aviv University Workshop for Science, Technology and Security.

The Ketagalan Forum: Asia Pacific Security Dialogue is being held fully in person this year for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak three years ago.