New Delhi: The Government of India on March 5 cancelled an annual conference held by the major think-tank Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis (MPIDSA) in the wake of the Coronavirus.

The Asian Security Conference hosted by the IDSA (rechristened as MPIDSA) annually was to mark its 21st year, aimed at debating the scope of defence planning for countries and organisations in an era of acute regional and global uncertainty. The two-day event was scheduled to be held from March 12.

However, “Due to the prevailing global situation with regard to COVID 19, it has been decided to postpone the 21st Asian Security Conference (ASC) to a later date,” the Institute said in a statement.

Fresh dates for the conference will be conveyed in due course, the statement read.

The conference aims to bring together a range of experts, scholars, ex-policy makers, industry leaders and strategic planners to discuss the various facets of conflict, warfare and conventional and unconventional threats, by highlighting implications for defence planning in an era of strategic uncertainty.

The conference was to examine the linkages between national security, defence planning and changing nature of conflict in Asia and beyond.