Seventh Annual CSIS South China Sea Conference

The CSIS Southeast Asia Program and Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) are pleased to present the Seventh Annual CSIS South China Sea Conference.

This full-day conference will provide opportunities for in-depth discussion and analysis of the future of the South China Sea disputes, and potential responses, amid policy shifts in Beijing, Manila, and Washington. It will feature speakers from throughout the region, including claimant countries. Panels will address recent developments, legal and environmental issues, the strategic balance, and U.S. policy under the Trump administration. 

9:00 a.m.        “Renewing American Leadership in the Asia-Pacific”
 
Senator Cory Gardner
Chairman, Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs
Committee on Foreign Relations
United States Senate
 
Moderator:
Michael J. Green
Senior Vice President for Asia and Japan Chair
Center for Strategic and International Studies


9:45 a.m.       State of Play in the South China Sea over the Past Year
 
Aries Arugay
Associate Professor, Department of Political Science
University of the Philippines

Xue Chen
Research Fellow, Center for Maritime and Polar Region Studies
Shanghai Institute for International Studies
 
Tran Truong Thuy  
Director
Foundation for East Sea Studies, Vietnam
 
Bonnie Glaser
Senior Adviser and Director, China Power Project
Center for Strategic and International Studies
 
Moderator:
Amy Searight
Senior Adviser and Director, Southeast Asia Program
Center for Strategic and International Studies
 
11:00 a.m.       Coffee Break
 
11:15 a.m.      Legal and Environmental Issues and Next Steps
 
Jay Batongbacal
Associate Professor of Law and Director, Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea
University of the Philippines Law Center
 
Isaac Kardon
Assistant Professor, Center for Naval Warfare Studies
U.S. Naval War College
 
Chi-ting Tsai
Assistant Professor of International Law, Department of Political Science
National Taiwan University
 
Tara Davenport
Non-Resident Fellow, Centre for International Law
National University of Singapore
 
Moderator:
Gregory Poling
Director, Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative; and
Fellow, Southeast Asia Program
Center for Strategic and International Studies

12:30 p.m.      Lunch Served
 
1:00 p.m.        Lunch Discussion

Ely Ratner
Maurice R. Greenberg Senior Fellow in China Studies
Council on Foreign Relations

Moderator:
Amy Searight
Senior Adviser and Director, Southeast Asia Program
Center for Strategic and International Studies

1:45 p.m.        Militarization, Counter-Coercion, and Capacity Building
 
Lindsey Ford
Director for Security Programs
Asia Society Policy Institute
 
Alexander Vuving
Professor
Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, Hawaii
 
Darshana Baruah
Research Analyst
Carnegie India
 
Moderator:
Andrew Shearer
Senior Adviser on Asia-Pacific Security
Center for Strategic and International Studies
 
3:00 p.m.        Coffee Break
 
3:15 p.m.        U.S. South China Sea Policy under the New Administration
 
Colin Willett
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary
U.S. Department of State

Nong Hong
Executive Director and Senior Fellow
Institute for China-America Studies
 
Dang Cam Tu
Deputy Director, Institute for Strategic Studies
Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam
 
Joseph Chinyong Liow
Dean and Professor of Comparative and International Politics
S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
 
Moderator:
Murray Hiebert
Senior Adviser and Deputy Director, Southeast Asia Program
Center for Strategic and International Studies                      
 
4:30 p.m.        Adjourn