Photo: Lady Justice by AJEL @ pixabay.com • Background: Relief map of the South China Sea by NZeemin @ Wikimedia Commons
The UP Asian Center will be hosting a public lecture, “Strategic Selection: Philippine Arbitration in the South China Sea Dispute” by Dr. Krista E. Wiegand on Thursday, 20 April 2017, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM, Seminar Room, Hall of Wisdom, GT-Toyota Asian Cultural Center, Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman. The lecture is free and open to the public; seating is first-come, first-served, but participants are encouraged to sign up to expedite the registration process on the day of the lecture.
ABOUT THE LECTURE
It is fairly unusual for East Asian states to seek peaceful dispute resolution through binding methods of international law, arbitration and adjudication. What is puzzling is why states seek one particular dispute resolution method or another, and in the specific case of the Philippines, why the government chose to pursue arbitration against China regarding the maritime boundaries of the South China Sea, knowing that China would not agree to participate. I consider three reasons for why the Philippine government chose to pursue arbitration against China: 1) to counterbalance China's military actions in the South China Sea, 2) personalized foreign policy approach, and 3) the probability of winning the case using arbitration with ITLOS was perceived by the Philippines as strong. Through interviews and research, I find evidence for the suppositions.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dr. Krista E. Wiegand (Ph.D. Duke University) is a Fulbright Senior Scholar at the De La Salle University in Manila, Philippines. She is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the Global Security-Conflict Processes Research Program and Faculty Fellow at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA. Her research interests focus on territorial and maritime disputes, armed conflict, conflict resolution, Asian and Middle East security and foreign policy, and Islamic terrorism and political violence. As a Fulbright Senior Scholar, she is researching the decision making process of dispute resolution, specifically the territorial and maritime dispute between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea. She has written many articles about territorial and maritime disputes, as well as two books, Bombs and Bullets: Governance by Islamic Terrorist and Guerrilla Groups (Routledge, 2010) and Enduring Territorial Disputes: Strategies of Bargaining, Coercive Diplomacy, & Settlement (University of Georgia Press, 2011), and co-edited Islands of Contention: The China-Japan Border Dispute in a Multidisciplinary Perspective (Routledge, 2015). View her website here.
VENUE And VICINITY MAP
Vehicles entering the UP Asian Center (GT-Toyota Asian Cultural Center) grounds can only do so via the gate on Magsaysay Avenue that is near a UP guardhouse, a few meters away from Katipunan Avenue, and across Maynilad. A small gate for pedestrians on Guerrero St. lies across the College of Law parking lot and a few meters away from a waiting shed, where the Ikot jeepney, and jeepneys from Philcoa and SM North pass by. VIEW VICINITY MAP and GOOGLE STREET VIEW
INQUIRIES and ATTENDANCE
If you are planning to come with/as a big group (a class or delegation), please inform us the number of participants at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. It would also be best if their names could be registered online or if you could send us a list of their names.
ENROLL: MA Programs: Asian Studies @ UP Asian Center
The UP 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. Get an overview of these programs. The Asian Center also houses a peer-reviewed, open-access journal, Asian Studies: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia. It has published several books and monographs, and hosts or organizes various lectures and conferences.