Earlier this month from 1 to 3 June 2015, Professor Aileen Baviera presented a paper, “China’s New Strategic Initiatives: Implications for Southeast Asia” at a panel on “China’s Strategic Initiatives under Xi Jinping” at the 29th Asia Pacific Roundtable held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The annual Asia Pacific Roundtable is one of the biggest and most prominent Track Two events in the region, organized by the think tank network ASEAN Institutes for Strategic and International Studies.
Below is the abstract of her presentation:
“The current leadership of China has presented the international community with a vision of its desired global and regional order through its new strategic initiatives, including the (1) One Belt One Road Proposal for greater economic and people to people connectivity, (2) the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, (3) the “2+7” cooperation framework for China-Southeast Asia relations for the next decade, (4) the enunciation of a “dual track” approach and hopes of building “a community of common destiny” in relation to ASEAN and the South China Sea, (5) calls for a New Asian Security Concept, as well as (6) a “new type of major power relations”, and (7) active assertion and defense of its maritime claims. In this brief presentation, I provide brief, preliminary, and simplified analysis of what I perceive to be the driving forces of principal objectives of China, as well as questions about what the general implications may be for Southeast Asia.” View the full paper.
She later flew to Tokyo, Japan to participate at the annual convention of the Japan Association for Asian Studies, which was held at Rikkyo University on 14 June 2015. Dr. Baviera was part of a panel, “Beyond China Threat Theory: Dialogue with China Experts on the Rise of China,” organized by Tokyo University’s Shigeto Sonoda. Her presentation was on "Philippine Domestic Groups' Perceptions of China's Rise."
Professor Baviera was recently recognized as Distinguished Alumni by the University of the Philippines Alumni Association (UPAA). She completed her Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of the Philippines Diliman, and was recognized for her contributions to “International Strategic Studies.” Dr. Baviera specializes on and writes about contemporary China studies, China-Southeast Asia relations, Asia-Pacific security, territorial and maritime disputes, and regional integration. The editor in chief of Asian Politics & Policy, she is also author of many academic publications, including “Territorial and Maritime Jurisdiction Disputes in East Asia: Comparing Bilateral and Multilateral Approaches,” which appeared in the book, Bilateralism, Multilateralism and Asia-Pacific Security: Contending Cooperation, that was published in 2013 by Routledge. Her faculty profile may be viewed here.
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. For other news and upcoming events at the Asian Center, click here.