The Lowy Institute hosted an international workshop focusing on tensions in the East China Sea on Wednesday, 12 June 2013. The workshop assessed decisions taken in Beijing, Taipei, Tokyo and Washington with regard to the East China Sea since Japan's central government purchased three of the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands in September 2012. The aim of the workshop was to gain a nuanced understanding of the drivers affecting government decisions pertaining to the East China Sea following the escalation of tensions in the region. One of the questions addressed was how leadership transitions in Japan and China as well as the departure of top US foreign policy officials affected efforts to defuse tensions.
Papers were presented by the following specialists (in alphabetical order of surname):
- Ms Bonnie Glaser, Senior Adviser for Asia, Freeman Chair in China Studies, Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), Washington DC;
- Ms Linda Jakobson, Director, East Asia Program, Lowy Institute for International Policy, Sydney;
- Professor Jin Canrong, Associate Dean of International Relations at Renmin University, China; and
- Lt. Gen. Noboru Yamaguchi (Ret.), Former Commander Ground Self Defense Forces, currently Professor of Military History and Strategy, National Defense Academy of Japan.
A full list of workshop participants and their biographies can be accessed here.
The workshop agenda can be accessed here.
