Wherever I am, the world comes after me.
It offers me its busyness. It does not believe that I do not want it.
Now I understand why the old poets of China went so far
and high into the mountains, then crept into the pale mist.
"The Old Poets of China" by Mary Oliver

UP Asian Center Is Founding Member of 'Network of ASEAN-China Academic Institutes' (NACAI)

Details

Photo from MPRO UP website.

The University of the Philippines’ Asian Center (AC) along with nine leading academic institutes in Southeast Asia and China, have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish officially the Network of ASEAN-China Academic Institutes (NACAI) on 28 May 2017 at Fudan University, Shanghai, China.

Aside from AC, the other members of the network include the Institute of Asian Studies, Universiti Brunei Darussalam; Institute of Humanity and Social Sciences, Royal Academy of Cambodia; Center for China’s Relations with Neighboring Countries, Fudan University; ASEAN Studies Center, University of Indonesia; Asia Research Center, National University of Laos; Institute of China Studies, University of Malaya; Department of International Relations, University of Yangon;  ASEAN Studies Center, Chulalongkorn University; and Institute for Southeast Asian Studies, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences.

UP Diliman Chancellor Michael Lim Tan signed the MOU on behalf of the Asian Center and UP Diliman. Chancellor Tan also served as the chairperson of the Conference’s first session.

The founding members have agreed to establish a platform of cooperation and collaboration that will promote studies on ASEAN-China relations and will provide intellectual support for the comprehensive development of the said relations, and enhance collaborative innovation among the participants.

Two AC faculty members also witnessed the MOU signing and delivered paper presentations in the NACAI sponsored session “ASEAN-China Relations in Transition: Differences Management and Win-win Cooperation” under the Shanghai Forum 2017. Dr. Joefe B. Santarita, AC Dean, presented a paper titled “ The Philippines’ ASEAN Chairmanship and its Implications to the ASEAN-China Relations’ and Dr. Henelito A. Sevilla, Jr., Assistant Professor and Assistant to the Dean for Administration and Public Affairs, delivered his lecture titled ‘The Direction of President Duterte’s Foreign Policy Agenda vis-à-vis China and the Future of ASEAN’.

The content of this article originally appeared in the UP MPRO website on May 27, 2017. 

VIEW ORIGINAL ARTICLE 

The UP asian Center is also a member of the Consortium for Southeast Asian Studies in Asia. 

ABSTRACTS

The Philippines’ ASEAN Chairmanship and its Implications to ASEAN-China Relations by Dean Joefe B. Santarita, PhD, Dean of UP Asian Center

This paper will look at the possible effects of the Philippines’ chairmanship in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to ASEAN-China relations. In particular, this paper will revisit the ASEAN’s priorities as proposed and for implementation by the Philippines as the current chairman. Subsequently, the paper will also look at the influences of the Philippines’ Chairmanship of ASEAN to the enrichment of ASEAN-China relations.

The Direction of President Duterte’s Foreign Policy Agenda vis-a-vis China and the Future of ASEAN by Henelito A. Sevilla, Jr., PhD, Assistant to the Dean for Academic and External Affairs

This paper will try to understand the nuances in Philippine-China relations at least during the first year of President Duterte’s office. By looking at the historical connectivity between the two countries, this paper advances the idea that the Philippine and China re not at all strangers with each other as has always been portrayed by the Western and Philippine media, but the two countries have a lot of commonalities which can be utilized to advance common interests. In addition, it will also try to look at issues facing their domestic environment, and finally to look at how Duterte’s foreign policy statement may affect the political and economic direction of the SAEAN as the Philippines chairs the ASEAN 2017.

ORGANIZERS

The conference was organized by the Center of China's Relations with Neighboring Countries, Fudan University, the Network of ASEAN-China Academic Institutions, and the Asian Research Center of Fudan. 

 The Asian Center offers M.A. degrees in Asian Studies with four fields of specialization: Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. The Center also has an M.A. program in Philippine Studies that allows students to major in Philippine society and culture, Philippine foreign relations, or Philippine development studies. The Center offers a Ph.D. program in Philippine Studies in conjunction with the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. For an overview of these graduate programs, click here. The Asian Center also publishes Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia, the latest issue of which can be downloaded at the journal's website. View recent and upcoming Lectures & Conferences and read other News & Announcements. Join our mailing list to receive invitations to lectures, conferences, etc.