2023 marked a significant year for U.S. diplomacy in Southeast Asia as the United States signed comprehensive strategic partnerships with both Vietnam and Indonesia, advanced negotiations on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), and established the first U.S.–ASEAN center in Washington, DC. While Southeast Asia serves as a key driver of economic growth in the Indo-Pacific, the region confronts immense challenges—from the ongoing civil war in Myanmar and disputes in the South China Sea, to climate change and natural disasters, to successfully navigating the turbulent U.S.–China relationship.

How is the U.S. government responding to the region’s changing needs? How are U.S. businesses responding to new opportunities in the region?  How are Southeast Asian states managing the complexities of U.S.–China relations and what impact does strategic competition have on regional perceptions of the two powers? What can we expect from ASEAN in 2024 under Laos’ chairmanship?

Join us for this important conversation on U.S. engagement with Southeast Asia and ASEAN with The Hon. Marc E. Knapper, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, The Hon. Edgard D. Kagan, U.S. Ambassador-designate to Malaysia, and The Hon. Heather Variava, U.S. Ambassador to Laos, moderated by Daniel Russel, Vice President for Security and Diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute, and opening remarks by The Hon. Ted Osius, President and CEO of the US-ASEAN Business Council.

SPEAKERS

The Hon. Edgard D. Kagan, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, was most recently the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for East Asia and Oceania at the National Security Council.  Ambassador Kagan has previously served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. embassies in New Delhi, India and in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Deputy Assistant Secretary in the State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Consul General at the U.S. Consulate General in Mumbai, India, and Deputy Director of the Washington Office of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Earlier in his career, he was Director of Korean Affairs and Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Other overseas assignments include Economic and then Political/Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Canberra, Australia, and Political Officer and then Political External Unit Chief at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, PRC. He has also served abroad in Israel, Hungary, and Cote d’Ivoire. A recipient of the Presidential Meritorious Award and numerous other State Department performance awards, Ambassador Kagan speaks French, Mandarin Chinese, Hungarian, and some Spanish.  A cum laude graduate of Yale University, he is married to Cynthia Gire. They have three children. 

The Hon. Marc E. Knapper is a member of the Senior Foreign Service of the U.S. Department of State and the Ambassador to Vietnam.  He most recently served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Korea and Japan from August 2018 to July 2021.  Prior to assuming this position, Marc was Chargé d’Affaires ad interim in Seoul from 2017 to 2018 and Deputy Chief of Mission from 2015 to 2016.  Earlier assignments include Director for India Affairs, Director for Japan Affairs, and Seoul, Baghdad, Tokyo, and Hanoi. Marc is a recipient of the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Award, the nation’s highest diplomatic honor.  Marc has also received a Presidential Meritorious Service Award and the Department of State’s Linguist of the Year Award.  He is a summa cum laude graduate of Princeton University, and also studied at the University of Tokyo, Middlebury College’s intensive Japanese program, the Army War College, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Seminar XXI program.  Marc speaks Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese. A native of Los Angeles, Marc is married to Suzuko Knapper and they have one son, Alex, who is 23.

The Hon. Heather Variava was sworn in as the U.S. Ambassador to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic on January 19, 2024.  She is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, Class of Minister Counselor.  Previously, she served as Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines.  She also served as Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Mission to Indonesia, and as U.S. Consul General in Surabaya, Indonesia. In Washington, Ambassador Variava was Director of the Office of Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, and Bhutan in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State; she also worked at the State Department Operations Center and served as the country desk officer for Thailand in the Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs.  A member of the U.S. Foreign Service since 1996, Ambassador Variava has also served overseas in India, Mauritius, Vietnam, and Bangladesh. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Ambassador Variava worked as a newspaper reporter in Waterville, Maine. Raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Ambassador Variava received an undergraduate degree in International Relations from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.  She holds master’s degrees from the University of Missouri and from the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom.  In 2012, Ambassador Variava received a master’s degree in National Security Strategy from the National War College in Washington, D.C., and in 2014 she completed a fellowship in executive leadership with the International Women’s Forum (IWF).  She is the recipient of numerous Meritorious and Superior Honor Awards, as well as a Presidential Rank Award.  She speaks Indonesian and has studied Vietnamese, French, and German.  Ambassador Variava is married to Billy Variava, and they have two sons.

The Hon. Ted Osius (opening remarks) is President & CEO of the US-ASEAN Business Council.  Founded in 1984, the Council represents 180 of the largest American businesses in Southeast Asia through its headquarters in Washington, DC, and its seven regional offices. A diplomat for thirty years, Ambassador Osius served from 2014 to 2017 as U.S. ambassador to Vietnam. In October 2021, Osius published his most recent book, Nothing Is Impossible: America’s Reconciliation with Vietnam. After his departure from government, Osius joined Google Asia-Pacific as Vice President for Government Affairs and Public Policy. Earlier, he was a senior advisor at the Albright-Stonebridge Group and the first Vice President of Fulbright University Vietnam.  Osius was associate professor at the National War College and Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Ambassador Osius earned a Bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, a Master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, and an Honorary Doctorate from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education. Ambassador Osius speaks Vietnamese, French and Italian, and a bit of Japanese, Indonesian, Hindi, Thai, Tagalog and Greek.  He and his husband, Clayton Bond, have a son and a daughter.

Daniel Russel (Moderator) is Vice President for International Security and Diplomacy at the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI). Previously he served as a Diplomat in Residence and Senior Fellow with ASPI for a one year term. A career member of the Senior Foreign Service at the U.S. Department of State, he most recently served as the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. Prior to his appointment as Assistant Secretary on July 12, 2013, Mr. Russel served at the White House as Special Assistant to the President and National Security Council (NSC) Senior Director for Asian Affairs. During his tenure there, he helped formulate President Obama’s strategic rebalance to the Asia Pacific region, including efforts to strengthen alliances, deepen U.S. engagement with multilateral organizations, and expand cooperation with emerging powers in the region. Among many roles in the U.S. government, he served as Director of the Office of Japanese Affairs and had assignments as U.S. Consul General in Osaka-Kobe, Japan (2005-2008); Political Section Unit Chief at U.S. Embassy Seoul, Republic of Korea (1992-95); Vice Consul in Osaka and Branch Office Manager in Nagoya, Japan (1987-89); and Assistant to the Ambassador to Japan, former Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield (1985-87). In 1996, he was awarded the State Department's Una Chapman Cox Fellowship sabbatical and authored America’s Place in the World.