Securitisation and International Law in Asia
Sunday, June 28, 2026
Umeda, Osaka (in a hybrid format)
Supported by Kwansei Gakuin University
Recent developments in Asia demonstrate that securitisation is no longer confined to highly visible conflicts such as Russia–Ukraine or Israel–Hamas. Although less extensively covered in global media, interstate armed confrontations have occurred in Asia, including the India–Pakistan conflict and the Thailand–Cambodia border clashes. At the same time, military exercises by the United States and its allies in the Asia–Pacific region have intensified, while China continues to conduct military operations in the maritime areas surrounding Taiwan. These dynamics have generated heightened security concerns among States in the region.
This Conference invites papers that explore the influence of security concerns on the development, interpretation, and application of international law in Asia, or that investigate how international law constrains governmental authorities from enacting specific securitisation measures. Securitisation has permeated virtually all branches of international law. Traditional areas such as jus ad bellum, jus in bello, and emerging jus post bellum remain central, but security considerations increasingly affect the law of the sea, space law, international human rights law, international environmental law and international economic law. For instance, the rise of “economic security” as a policy priority across Asian States has reshaped legal discourse in trade, investment, and technology governance. Environmental obligations, including climate-change commitments, have also been influenced by security framing.
For more information about the conference, please visit: asiansil-jp.org