After the Welcome Remarks by the Dean of the Osaka School of International Public Policy (OSIPP), Toshiya Hoshino, Stefan Biedermann, Deputy Consul General from the German Consulate General Osaka-Kobe, also using his personal background living in the former German-German frontier area elaborated for the Asian experts on the importance of a peaceful political integration for the people living in a region. Similar experiences for the people in North- and Southeast Asia were desirable and had to be recognized as targets for political engangement in inter-state relations.

Prof. Beate Neuss

Next, Prof. Beate Neuss, Deputy Chairperson of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, gave her introductory Keynote Speech, in which she especially emphasized the relevance of common values and interests as a fundamental background for the success of European integration in the past and future. Also, she recalled the Conference and lateron Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE resp. OSCE), i.e. the permanent engagement of the Soviet sphere into European affairs as a decisive aspect of developments. Despite non-neglectable disparities between 20th century Europe and 21st century Asia the European history of integration could and should be taken into consideration at least as a point of reference and guidepost for future regional developments in Asia.

Lam Peng-Er

In the first session Lam Peng-Er from the National University of Singapore and Pavin Chachavalpongpun from the ASEAN-Institute of Southeast Asian Studies presented on the current state of regional integration in Asia and explicitly elaborated on the parallel existence of differing approaches as well as namely in detail on the role of the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN). In the judgment of the Asian integration process first important differences between the perception by mainly western political science theory and the presenters became visible.

Pavin Chachavalpongpun

To strengthen the theoretical background for that discussion, Tang Shiping from the Chinese Fudan University analysed in his following presentation the concept of (international) "order". He stressed the importance of multiple levels and sublevels of definition, namely

1. predictability of social interaction,
2. differences between order and other concepts (e.g. authority, power, structure, stability and legitimacy)
3. operational definition by scope, monopoly on violence and instituionalization
4. stability by monopoly on violence, institutionalization through welfare improvement and internalization
5. normative legitimacy as a holostic attribute of process, which can only be realized through liberal democracy

Chin-fu Hung

In the subsequent presentation of the second session Chin-fu Hung from the taiwanese National Cheng Kung University showed the signifigance of internet or so called New Social Media for the social developments in the People's Republic of China and their possible effects on future developments of a regional community and order, before Haruko Satoh from the Osaka School of International Public Policy in her presentation looked at the role of Japan as a culturally genuinely Asian country under strong influence of western values with regard to a Japanese perspective of integration with its neighbors.

Hahnkyu Park

Zainuddin Djafar

Herman Kraft

On the second conference day, Hahnkyu Park, Kyung Hee University, Korea, Keokam Kraisraphong, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, Zainuddin Djafar, University of Indonesia, Arpita Mathur, formerly Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and Herman Kraft, University of the Philippines, finally in a third session turned once again to the definition of regional and national interests in Asia, stressing in accordance with the statements made by Prof. Neuss in her Keynote Speech their eminent importance for the previous and possible future development of regional integration.