Earlier, I wrote about why China believes that a past consensus existed with Japan over deferring resolution of the dispute over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. A colleague recently alerted me to a new Chinese source that further illuminates the discussion of the issue during the talks on normalizing diplomatic relations in 1972 between Kakuei Tanaka and Zhou Enlai. The source is a …
Something to Talk About in the East China Sea
The diplomatic stand off between China and Japan over the Senkaku / Diaoyu Islands has entered its third week without any signs of de-escalation. Positions on both sides have hardened. Each government has released detailed accounts of the bases for their claims (, ). Talks earlier in the week between diplomats in Beijing yielded only an …
Drawing Lines in the Water
In the past few days, China has launched a broad and well coordinated media campaign to express opposition to the Japanese government’s purchase of three of the While tensions rise between Japan and China in the East China Sea, an important development may have been overlooked. (Diaoyu) Islands from a private Japanese citizen. The campaign …
The Perils of Predicting Chinese Politics
In recent weeks, rumors about the outcome of the 18thCongress of the Chinese Communist Party—expected in a month or two—and the composition of such key leadership bodies as the next Politburo Standing Committee, . At the moment, conventional wisdom holds that its membership will be reduced from nine to seven, with the crucial portfolio for law and …
Much Ado About The Sansha Garrison
In June, Beijing raised the “administrative status of the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha islands” from a county-level administrative office to prefectural-level city named Sansha based on Woody (Yongxing) Island in the Paracels (Xisha) archipelago in the South China Sea. In July, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) garrison in the newly created city also based on Woody …
The United States in the South China Sea Disputes
In June, I attended the Berlin Conference on Asian Security, organized by the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, SWP) and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. I participated in a panel on the South China Sea and presented a paper entitled “The United States in the South China Sea Disputes.” In the paper, I reviewed the …
Sage advice for graduate school applicants
Over at Duck of Minerva, Georgetown University’s Dan Nexon has authored a post with excellent tips for those considering applying to PhD program in Political Science. Having served on graduate admissions committees, his advice is spot on.
Overlapping Claims and Major Powers
Yesterday, the head of PetroVietnam, Vietnam’s state-owned oil company, gave a briefing in response to CNOOC’s announcement of new blocks in the South China Sea. The briefing included a map, shown below, which indicates the extent to which China’s blocks overlap with Vietnam’s. It also shows which foreign oil companies are targeted by CNOOC’s announcement — Gazprom, …
The South China Sea Oil Card
Over the weekend, the China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) quietly announced that nine new blocks in the South China Sea were now open to foreign oil companies for exploration and development. This move reflects one of the starkest efforts by China to assert its maritime rights in these disputed waters – and constitutes a direct challenge …
How to Defuse South China Sea Conflicts
Yesterday, I published a short piece in the Asian Wall Street Journal, “How to Defuse South China Sea Conflicts.” The op-ed explores the lessons that can be learned from the standoff between China and the Philippines over Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. Read it here.