On March 7, 2025, The Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) hosted an exchange of views with Professor Ronán Long, Director, the World Maritime University Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute (WMU-GOI), an educational and research institution established by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). From JIIA, President Kenichiro Sasae, Executive Director of the JIIA Platform, Futoshi Matsumoto, Managing Director of the Center for Territory and History, Masao Kochi, and Research Fellows Takeo Otani and Leo Tamamizu participated. Discussions were held on the current difficult international situation and the future of cooperation between think-tanks and universities based on it.

WMU-GOI is the host organization for the annual Conference on Oceans Law & Policy (COLP), the world's largest international academic conference in the field of maritime law. JIIA has co-hosted / co-sponsored every year. Director Long discussed the growing focus on ocean research in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the institute's achievements in nurturing experts in developing countries since its establishment. He also expressed his expectations for JIIA's cooperation and support at the 48th annual COLP, which will be held in India this year. On the other hand, President Sasae mentioned the unilateral diplomatic stance of the new Trump administration in the United States and emphasized the importance of persistently promoting and practicing the principles of multilateralism, which involves addressing international issues through frameworks like the United Nations, and the "rule of law," which aims to resolve conflicts without the use of force, together with WMU-GOI and other partner institutions.