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<\/a><\/p>\nPUBLIC RECEPTION FROM 5:30 PM<\/strong><\/p>\n The controversy surrounding the South China Sea has become one of the most critical international disputes of the 21st century. Stakeholders\u2019 positions are well-established: complex maps delineate a baffling array of claims, and regional diplomats and leaders appeal to modern legal codes and ancient tracts alike to support their narratives of how this water should be divided between the numerous states in the region. Below the waters potentially lie 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, as well as immense fisheries. The sea is also crucial to global trade and commerce: an estimated fifty percent of the world\u2019s oil tankers pass through these waters, and as economic activity in Southeast Asia increases, so too will the importance of maintaining freedom of navigation. Speakers:<\/strong>
\nThe situation threatens to cloud Sino-American relations. The United States maintains a security pact with the Philippines and is forging closer ties with other ASEAN nations. There is an established U.S. military presence in the region, and as China continues to assert its newfound power, tensions with the United States are more likely. What are the international community\u2019s options in seeking a resolution to this dispute? What hope does international law afford? Will great power politics override the desire for peace and stability? What role will business and trade play? Asia Society is pleased to present a top-level discussion examining the ways in which the South China Sea dispute might be disentangled while avoiding disastrous conflict between its major players.<\/p>\n
\nPeter Dutton, Professor of Strategic Studies and Director of the China Maritime Studies Institute, U.S. Naval War College
\nRobert D. Kaplan, Chief Geopolitical Analyst, Stratfor; author; Foreign Correspondent, The Atlantic
\nHolly Morrow, Fellow, the Geopolitics of Energy Project, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
\nOrville Schell (moderator), Arthur Ross Director of the Center on U.S.-China Relations, Asia Society
\nZha Daojiong, Professor of International Political Economy, Peking University<\/p>\n