Agenda:

Monday, Sept. 15, 2014

Session 1: Perspectives on Regional Security
This session will compare threat perceptions and challenges in the region and reflect on Myanmar’s place in it. We will discuss principal security issues that each country faces, perceptions regarding current trends in the regional security, the influence of extra-regional events on regional security, and the impact of major power relations on security relations in Southeast Asia and Myanmar.

Session 2: Perspectives on National Security Strategies and Policies
This session will examine the national security strategies and policies in the US and Myanmar. The US side will offer an explanation of how its rebalance-to-Asia policy fits into its broader security strategy and how this policy influences its perspective on relations with ASEAN in general and Myanmar in particular. The Myanmar side will offer an explanation of its national security strategy and explain the evolution of its security policies and how, if at all, the US rebalance affects this policy.

Session 3: Perspectives on Civil-Military Relations and Defense Sector Management
This session will focus on the role of the military in civil society. The US will provide an explanation of the role the military and particularly the Reserve and National Guard components play in providing assistance to civil authorities in response to crises. Myanmar will provide an explanation of it transition to civilian control of the government, with specific reference to management of the defense sector, and the role of the military in providing assistance to civil authorities in response to crises.

Session 4: Regional Security Cooperation
This session will reflect on opportunities for regional security cooperation. This will include a discussion of the security cooperation initiatives of the various regional organizations including ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting Plus, ASEAN Regional Forum, and ASEAN Maritime Forum Plus. The US will explain its security engagement program in Southeast Asia. Myanmar will explain its involvement in ASEAN-based and other regional security cooperation initiatives. The focus will be on the role of confidence-building measures in promoting peace and security in Southeast Asia.

Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2014

Session 5: Building Cooperation on Nontraditional Security Issues
This session will explore opportunities for improving US-Myanmar cooperation through increased cooperation on specific nontraditional security issues. The focus will be on humanitarian assistance/disaster relief, military medicine, and nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Session 6: Looking toward the Future
This session will reflect on next steps for the bilateral relationship and future military-to-military cooperation. We will discuss the future of Myanmar relations with the US/West as they relate to military-to-military relations, the major challenges to improving relations, possible milestones to mark progress, and what both sides can do to reduce suspicions and promote security cooperation.