Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – 29 April 2026: The Rabdan Security and Defence Institute (RSDI) successfully convened a high-level closed-door roundtable on 22 April 2026, titled “Distant War, Immediate Impact: Southeast Asia’s Strategic Response to Middle East Turbulence.” The session marked the launch of a broader series of strategic dialogues examining the cross-border spillover effects of the ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran on geographically distant regions, and its growing implications for regional security and stability.
The roundtable brought together a distinguished group of experts and practitioners to explore the broader geopolitical, security, and strategic dimensions of the evolving conflict in the Middle East, with particular emphasis on its implications for Southeast Asia. Discussions highlighted how distant conflicts increasingly reshape regional security dynamics, influence policy responses, and recalibrate strategic calculations among states and institutions.
The session was moderated by Dr. Abdul Rahman Yaccob, Research Fellow at the Rabdan Security and Defence Institute, and featured prominent speakers including Dr. Yohanes Sulaiman, Associate Professor at Universitas Jenderal Achmad Yani, Indonesia; Dr. Hafiizh Hashim, Lecturer at Universiti Brunei Darussalam; Mr. Adi Khairulzaman Adi Badiozaman, Counsellor at the Embassy of Malaysia to the United Arab Emirates; and Mr. Muhammad Faizal Bin Abdul Rahman, Research Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore.
This session reflects the Rabdan Security and Defence Institute’s continued commitment to advancing strategic dialogue and international knowledge exchange, fostering deeper understanding of contemporary security challenges, and supporting the development of more integrated and responsive policy approaches.
