Rappler’s Pia Ranada picked as Southeast Asia Young Leader for 19th Asia Security Summit

Rappler senior reporter Pia Ranada has been chosen to participate in the 19th Asia Security Summit as a Southeast Asian Young Leader, allowing her to attend the premier defense conference and network with experts and decision-makers in the field of defense and security.

The 19th Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, is hosted annually by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

The premier regional security and defense summit for Asia-Pacific, it regularly features keynote speeches from heads of state, defense ministers, foreign ministers, and other high-ranking officials from around the globe.

For this year’s summit, the keynote speech will be delivered by Japan Prime Minister Kishida Fumio on Friday, June 10. Also set to address the conference are United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe.

As a Southeast Asian Young Leader, Ranada will be a full delegate at the summit, allowing her access to all plenary and special sessions, seminars, and exclusive networking events.

In all, there are 41 Southeast Asian Young Leaders for this year’s summit. Of these, three are from the Philipppines. Aside from Ranada, also joining are Captain Dianne Despi, an instructor with the Corps of Professors under the Armed Forces of the Philippines; and Julio Amador III, executive director of the Philippine-American Educational Foundation and interim president of the Foundation for the National Interest.

Despi pursues research on international security cooperation and maritime security in Southeast Asia. Amador does work on strategic and security issues, and foreign affairs.

The Southeast Asian Young Leader’s Programme chooses delegates from across the 10 Southeast Asian countries who come from a plethora of sectors key to security – government, academia, military, media, and business.

“The programme provides a forum for a new generation of strategists and leaders from Southeast Asia to build links with each other and to discuss important security challenges affecting their region and the wider world,” the IISS website says.

Ranada will report for Rappler about key developments at the Shangri-La Dialogue, with special focus on security issues important to the Philippines and Southeast Asia. – Rappler.com