Maritime Security in the Asia-Pacific: How Can We Maintain Good Order at Sea?

The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) cordially invites you to attend an on-the-record panel discussion on: 

Maritime Security in the Asia-Pacific: How Can We Maintain Good Order at Sea?

Featuring:
 
ADM Dennis Blair, USN (Ret.)
President, Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA
 
Vice Admiral Masanori Yoshida, JMSDF (Ret.)
Former President, Japan Maritime Self Defense Force Command and Staff College
 
Robert D. Kaplan
Senior Fellow, CNAS and Author of Asia’s Cauldron: The South China Sea and the End of a Stable Pacific
 
Dr. Satoru Mori
Visiting Scholar, Sigur Center for Asian Studies
George Washington University
 
And
 
Dr. Janine Davidson
Senior Fellow for Defense Policy
Council on Foreign Relations
  
Moderated by:
 
Dr. Patrick M. Cronin
Senior Advisor and Senior Director,
Asia-Pacific Security Program
Center for a New American Security
 

Date & Time
Thursday, March 12, 2015
8:30 a.m.: Guest Registration
8:30-9:15 a.m.: Breakfast Reception
9:15-10:30 a.m.: Remarks and Panel Discussion
10:30-11:00 a.m.: Audience Q&A 

Location
Army Navy Club Ballroom
901 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006

RSVP:
Please RSVP Online, or 
email Hannah Suh at hsuh@cnas.org or 202-292-4194.   

As space is limited, RSVPs will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.  This session is on the record and media is invited.

Please join us on Thursday, March 12 from 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the Army Navy Club’s Ballroom. We very much hope to see you on March 12.

About the Event

Satellite imagery of China's unprecedented reclamation of land features in the South China Sea is just one of the latest facets of an increasingly complex security environment in maritime Asia.  Artificial islands that may become springboards for China's power projection are seen by some as fitting a pattern of a more assertive China, especially with respect to the East and South China Seas.  How serious is the challenge posed by behavior variously described as "salami slicing" or "tailored coercion"?  

Moreover, what can the United States, Japan, and other allies can partners do to counter unilateral changes to the status quo through intimidation?  What do actors in the region expect of the United States and what does the United States expect of its allies and others?  Are current and projected levels of defense spending sufficient and properly focused?  How well are comprehensive instruments of power being used to deter bad maritime behavior?  How can China be more effectively engaged, including in military-to-military relations, to ensure better operational safety and avoid unintended escalation?

Stepping back to the big picture, how should the current maritime situation in the Asia-Pacific be seen through the prism of history and geopolitics?  These are some of the questions we will ask our panel.  Moderator Dr. Patrick M. Cronin, Senior Advisor and Senior Director of the CNAS Asia-Pacific Security Program, will also highlight some of the key findings of a new study on the subject that will be released at the same time as this public workshop.