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(L to R) Ms. Chaksuda Chakkaphak, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand; Richard C. Brunke and his father, U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Richard G. Brunke; Lt. Col. Nattawut Sabyeroop; and Sr. Superintendent Romanu Tupou Tikotikoca, Fiji Police Force, visit the U.S. Veterans Memorial at Punchbowl Cemetery, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Transnational security issues in general and global terrorism in particular are addressed in several portions of the Executive Course curriculum. Within the core curriculum, the transnational security agenda is set in the context of comprehensive regional security. The associated faculty roundtable now addresses how the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States have affected perceptions of security and approaches to cooperation and international responses to them. A number of subsequent modules address global terrorism; these include Globalization, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Resource Scarcity and Demography, Nationalism and Ethnic Separatism, and Multilateralism in the Asia-Pacific region. Several advanced study electives include aspects of terrorism and counterterrorism. Seminar games and workshops have also included scenarios involving terrorist activities by insurgency groups.

Following the 11 September attacks, the APCSS began reassessing the entire conference and research program offerings to enhance support for antiterrorism efforts. Conferences on "Islam in Asia After September 11," which assessed the potential for support from countries within the region for U.S. antiterrorism efforts in light of Islam’s role in their domestic politics, and "Terrorism and its Implications for Asia-Pacific Security" came from this reassessment. So, too, was the conference on "Terrorism, Transnational Threats, and Seams of Lawlessness." (Seams refers to various types of lawlessness, such as human smuggling, drugs, and terrorism, that converge like seams in fabric and overlap like the stitching, so it’s hard to tell where one ends and the other begins.)

This reassessment process is ongoing and will include the addition of new course offerings and the adjustment of conference agendas to incorporate various aspects of fighting terrorism or building coalition support. The APCSS will continue to evolve in its mission to enhance cooperation and build relationships through the mutual study of security issues affecting the Asia-Pacific region.