As 2025 nears to a close, the Henry Jackson Society is hosting a series of events reviewing what has happened around the world this year. In this instalment, we will explore the major political, economic, and geopolitical developments that have taken place in Asia.

From US-China trade tensions to the arrival of a new prime minister in Japan, the Cambodian-Thai border crisis, Gen Z-led protests in Nepal and Indonesia, and much more, 2025 has been an eventful year.

Joining our distinguished panel – made up of leading experts from the region – to unpack what has happened, make sense of the underlying trends… and find out what to expect from the year ahead.

This event is online only. Sign up here

Speakers:

Dr Alicia García-Herrero

Dr Alicia García-Herrero is the Chief Economist for Asia Pacific at Natixis. She also serves as Senior Fellow at European think-tank BRUEGEL and non-resident Research Fellow at National University of Singapore’s think tank, East Asia Institute. Dr García-Herrero is currently an Adjunct Professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology as well as a member of the Advisory Committee for Economic Affairs of the Spanish Government and an advisor to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s research arm (HKIMR). She holds a PhD in Economics from George Washington University. She has published extensively in refereed journals and books and is a fixture on international media.

Professor Aries A. Arugay

Professor Aries A. Arugay is Professor of Political Science at the University of the Philippines Diliman, where he has been a regular faculty member since 2004. He is also a Visiting Senior Fellow (nonresident) in the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, and the Editor-in-Chief of the leading journal Asian Politics & Policy. For his efforts in contributing to regional cooperation in the Asia-Pacific, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand awarded him an ASEAN@50 Fellowship in 2018.

Ian Williams

Ian Williams was foreign correspondent for Channel 4 News, based in Russia (1992–1995) and Asia (1995–2006). He then joined NBC News as Asia Correspondent (2006–2015), when he was based in Bangkok and Beijing. He won an Emmy and BAFTA awards. He is the author of several critically acclaimed books, most recently Vampire State: The Rise and Fall of the Chinese Economy, and writes regularly for The Spectator.

Zach Coleman

Zach Coleman is based in Tokyo as the features editor of Nikkei Asia. He was previously the publication’s Opinion Editor and built Nikkei Asia’s Hong Kong-based news team into its largest overseas bureau. Zach earlier edited and reported from Hong Kong for publications including the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal.

Dr Theo Zenou

Theo is a Research Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society. He holds a PhD in history at Cambridge University, where he also taught undergraduates. He has been a Theodore Sorensen Fellow at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and a Visiting Researcher at Boston University.

Theo has written features, essays and reviews for The Washington Post, The Economist, FT, The Guardian, The Times and Sunday Times, TLS, Spectator and others.

Prior to his doctorate, he worked in TV for several years