Informal Session: Scene Setting, October 16, 2011
1.) W. Lawrence S. Prabhakar, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Madras Christian College [Download in PDF format]
2.) Zhang Liangfu, Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs [Download in PDF format]
October 17, 2011
Welcome Remarks:
Ambassador Roberto R. Romulo, Chairman, Carlos P. Romulo Foundation [Download in PDF format]
Forum Chairman’s Remarks:
Ambassador Domingo L. Siazon, Jr., Former Ambassador to Austria and Japan, and former Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines [Download in PDF format]
Opening Session:
1.) Frank Wisner, International Affairs Advisor, Patton Boggs, LLP [Download in PDF format]
2.) Hasjim Djalal, Director, Center for Asian Studies, Jakarta [Download in PDF format]
3.) Chen Shi Qiu, Vice-President, China UN Association and China Society for Human Rights Studies [Download in PDF format]
Session I — Claims and Interests:
1.) Gao Jianjun, Professor, International Law Faculty, China University of Political Science and Law [Download in PDF format]
2.) Tran Truong Thuy, Director, Center for East Sea Studies [Download in PDF format]
3.) Liu Fu-Kuo, Executive Director, Centre for Security Studies, National Chengchi University [Download in PDF format]
Session II — Towards Peace and Prosperity in the South China Sea: Pathways for Regional Cooperation:
1.) Barry Wain, Writer-in-Residence, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies [Download in PDF format]
2.) Varapote Chensavasdijai, Department of Treaties and Legal Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs [Download in PDF format]
3.) Fraser Cameron, Director, EU-Asia Centre [Download in PDF format]
______________
- (ABS-CBN 27/10) DFA hits China over 'cannons' statement: It sounds like a grossly irresponsible sabre-rattling statement in contrast with the Philippines position which seeks an Unclos (United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea) rules- based solution to the West Philippine Sea issue,”
- (Mainichi 28/10) Vietnam to stick with plan to introduce Japanese nuclear technology: deputy PM:
- (Phil Star 28/10) Philippine-Vietnam amity upsets China
- (Diplomat 26/10) Defence Cuts Imperil US Asia Role: Slashing the US defence budget could undermine stability in Asia and US interests there, says J. Randy Forbes. And it could get worse this autumn.
- (Financial Times 26/10) US gas find off Vietnam adds to China tension: American oil major ExxonMobil has made a “potentially significant” gas discovery off the coast of Vietnam in an area that is also claimed by China; Armed forces: Belligerent language masks limited capability: “They could never do what we are used to doing – their control room is too small to fit in the people they’d need there, and it lacks certain instruments.”
- (Global Nation Inquirer 27/10) Del Rosario calls China paper warning ‘grossly irresponsible’: the daily Global Times’ statement was “in contrast with the Philippine position which seeks a United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea rules-based solution to the West Philippine Sea issue.”
- (Phil Star 26/10) Vietnam, Philippines eye alliance in Spratlys row: "We're trying to see if a common, united approach can be had between our two countries in terms of the claims that we both have in the West Philippines Sea; (Reuters 26/10) Manila, Hanoi forge cooperation on South China Sea: "The agreements on the establishment of a hotline communications mechanism between our coast guards, and the agreement linking our two navies mark significant progress in ensuring a safer and more secure maritime area".
- (AFP/Inquirer 26/10) Vietnam backs Philippine sea peace zone plan: “We again affirm the importance of the maintenance of peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation in the East Sea (Vietnam’s name for the area) to the region as well as to the parties concerned,” Sang said.
- (Business World 25/10) Vietnamese president arrives today for three-day visit
- (New York Times 25/10) Asian Anxiety: The cause for most of the worry in Asia is not simply the growth in Chinese military power over the past decade. Rather, it is the ways in which China is now exercising its new abilities. In particular, given the importance of trade routes, the expansion of the Chinese Navy’s operations throughout the East and South China Seas is causing alarm; U.S. Pivots Eastward to Address Uneasy Allies: “I want to make very clear that the United States is going to remain a presence in the Pacific for a long time”; (Jakarta Post 25/10) Panetta affirms US Asian presence to SBY:
- (Wall Street Journal 25/10) After Iraq, U.S. to Refocus on Asia: "the world's strategic and economic center of gravity is shifting east, and we are focusing more on the Asia Pacific region."
- (Bloomberg 25/10) China May Resort to Force in Sea Disputes, Global Times Says: China’s neighbors should prepare “for the sounds of cannons” if they don’t temper their positions in territorial disputes over the South China Sea.
- (Mainichi 25/10) Japan, Vietnam sign memo on defense cooperation enhancement:
- (Economic Times 25/10) India vs China: The South China sea oil rush: much larger surrounding swathes of oil and gas-rich seabeds fall under the jurisdiction of the state having sovereignty over the South China Sea islands.
- (Wall Street Journal 25/10) U.S. Won't Cut Forces in Asia: "We are not anticipating any cutbacks in this region,"
- (Mainichi 24/10) Panetta raises South China Sea issue with ASEAN counterparts: "the U.S. position on maritime security remains clear: we have a national interest in freedom of navigation and overflight, in unimpeded economic development and commerce, and in respect for international law,"
- (Diplomat 24/10) Can Noda Get Win-Win Ties?: ‘Win-win’ relations between Japan and China can only be achieved only when our nations truly respect each other.
- (Project Syndicate 24/10) Asia’s Giants Colliding at Sea? some important events are occuring in the South China Sea – and may shape how relations between the world’s two most populous countries, China and India, develop in the years ahead.
- (Phil Star 25/10) Beijing urges Manila to return Chinese vessels: “It is completely justified for Chinese fishermen to fish in an area that has been a traditional fishingground for generations,”
- (New York Times 23/10) U.S. to Sustain Military Power in the Pacific, Panetta Says: “no question that in discussions within the Pentagon, and discussions in the White House, that the Pacific will be a priority for the United States of America.”
- (Washington Post 23/10) US, Filipino marines hold combat drill near South China Sea shoal disputed by Beijing, Manila: More than 200 U.S. and Filipino marines staged an amphibious assault on a beach in a combat drill Sunday near a South China Sea shoal disputed by China and the Philippines.
- (Diplomat 23/10) South China Sea Conflict? No Way: Some are urging India to play a more active role in the South China Sea. There’s no need – China has too much to lose by escalating territorial disputes.
- (Malaya 24/10) China’s 9-dash line is map without coordinates: Although the two Chinese speakers in the recent forum on the South China Sea organized by the Carlos P. Romulo Foundation with the Institute of South East Asian Studies ,did not specifically mention their country’s nine-dash-line map in asserting the supremacy of their claim over the South China Sea, the subject surfaced several times in the discussions.
- (Japan Times 24/10) Asian powers scrambling for regional space: Asia is witnessing a jostling among its major powers — China, Japan and India — for regional strategic space, and a flurry of activity by these countries is focused toward the Southeast Asia region.
- (Phil Star 23/10) Philippines to sign maritime accord with Vietnam: to strengthen maritime law enforcement in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) during the state visit of Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang from Oct. 26 to 28, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) commandant Admiral Ramon Liwag said on Saturday.
.jpg&w=240)
