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

The UP Asian Center will be hosting a public lecture, The Geopolitics of the South China/West Philippine Sea on 21 March 2023, 2:00 PM, PST, at the Seminar Room, UP Asian Center. The event is free and open to the public! Walk-ins are allowed but pre-registration is encouraged.

ABOUT THE EVENT

Professor John Rennie Short will look at the perspectives of the South China/West Philippine Sea where he will outline the competing US and Chinese perspective, as well as the range of views of different ASEAN members, especially the Philippines. He will discuss issues of great power rivalry, gray zone activity and hedging. Lastly, Professor Short will highlight the problems caused by Chinese bumbling, US missteps, and ASEAN incoherence in a region that is fast becoming one of the world’s geopolitical hotspots.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

JOHN RENNIE SHORT
Born in Scotland, Professor John Rennie Short studied at Alloa Academy, University of Aberdeen (MA), and the University of Bristol (Ph.D. and postdoctoral research). He has held appointments at the University of Reading (UK), Syracuse University (USA), and University of Maryland (USA). His research interests include cities, history of cartography, and geopolitics. Professor Short has published in a wide range of journals and is the author of 50 books. His work is translated into Arabic, Chinese, Czech, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Turkish and Vietnamese. His essays have appeared in Associated Press, Business Insider, City Metric, Conversation, La Repubblica, Market Watch, Newsweek, PBS Newshour, Quartz, Salon, Slate, Time, US News and World Report, Washington Post and World Economic Forum. View full profile.

THE ORGANIZERS

The event is organized by the UP Asian Center.

For inquiries, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 8 981 8500 local 3580.
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. 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.