Dharamshala: Parliamentarian Tenzin Phuntsok Doring of the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, who represents Tibetans in Australasia and Asia (excluding India, Nepal, and Bhutan), attended the Asia Pacific Security Innovation Forum held in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand, from 17 to 19 November 2025.

During the forum, the Tibetan MP spoke on the topic “Economic Diplomacy vs. Strategic Presence.” He addressed the Tibetan cause and provided an overview of the structure and functions of the Central Tibetan Administration. Other speakers in the session included Simon O’Connor, former Member of Parliament of New Zealand, and H.E. Idelta Rodriguez, Ambassador of Timor-Leste.

During the forum, MP Doring introduced the cause of Tibet to the dignitaries and officials of embassies of Japan, Taiwan (Republic of China), Independent State of Samoa, and Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste who had attended the forum. Especially, expressing his gratitude to the senior officials of the Japanese and Taiwanese embassies for their continued support for the Tibetan cause, he spoke about the ongoing meeting in Taiwan related to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and about the 9th World Parliamentarians’ Convention on Tibet held in June of this year in Tokyo. Additionally, he had the opportunity to introduce the Tibetan cause to military officers and staff from the United States and Germany who were visiting.

Other Speakers at the forum included Major General Cioponea, NATO Headquarter; Colonel Arnel David, NATO, Rodger Baker; Executive Director for Startfor Center for Applied GeoPolitics; Major General (Retd) Gert-Johannes Hagemann, Board member and speaker for APSI; Colonel John Black (Retd); Captain Yuki Bito, Ph.D; Lt. Colonel David Jonas (Retd);  Colonel Grant Newsham, and others.

At the conclusion of the session, the Chair of the APSI Forum Committee, Prof. Anita Abbott, and the Coordinator, Brett Murphy, were presented with His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s book Voice for the Voiceless by MP Doring.

The Asia-Pacific Security Innovation (APSI) Forum is an important platform for dialogue and collaboration on key regional security issues. The platform hosts two annual meetings: the APSI Summit and the International Parliamentary Assembly.

This year, the Member of Parliament attended the APSI Summit for the first time, having previously participated in the International Parliamentary Assembly last year, where he delivered a speech.

-Report filed by Tibetan Parliamentary Secretariat