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.

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

10:00 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

11:15 a.m.       Coffee Break

11:30 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

12:45 p.m.      Lunch Served

1:15 p.m.        Lunch Discussion

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

Lyle Goldstein
Associate Professor, China Maritime Studies Institute
U.S. Naval War College

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

James Holmes
Professor, Strategy & Policy
U.S. Naval War College

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