The South China Sea explained: The history

Several neighbouring states and regional powers claim rights to the waters and contest claims to maritime boundaries. In this breakfast meeting, we explore the recent history of the South China Sea, shed light on the main state actors involved and their economic and strategic interests.

The breakfast meeting takes place in Bergen Global’s venues in Jekteviksbakken 31. Free breakfast is served.
You can also follow the event on Zoom.

About the series:

The South China Sea has long been a disputed region. Neighbouring states, fishing communities and international powers have fought over access, resources, and maritime borders. In recent history, not least due to China’s rise as a regional hegemon, the South China Sea has become one of the most critical flashpoints of our times.

We have invited researchers from different disciplines to explain and discuss the nature and dynamics of these conflicts. The series will consist of three breakfast meetings:

27 Sep: The history

28 Sep: Anthropological perspectives

29 Sep: International law

This breakfast series is a collaboration between Bergen Global (CMI/UiB), the Department of Foreign Languages (UiB) and
Forskningsdagene i Bergen.

Panel

Alfred Gerstl

is a specialist on international relations in the Indo-Pacific, notably in Southeast Asia. His research interests include ASEAN’s regional centrality, hedging strategies in Southeast Asia, the South China Sea dispute, China’s Belt and Road Initiative as well as traditional and non-traditional security threats. He is currently Associate Professor at the Department of Asian Studies at Palacky University Olomouc (Czech Republic) and senior researcher in the Department’s EU-funded project “Sinophone Borderlands – Interaction at the Edges”. From January 2023 on, he will head the EU-funded project “The EU in the volatile Indo-Pacific region”.

Alan Chong
(participates digitally) is Senior Fellow at the Centre for Multilateralism Studies within the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore. He has published widely on the notion of soft power and the role of ideas in constructing the international relations of Singapore and Asia. These ideational angles have also led to inquiry into some aspects of ‘non-traditional security’ issues in Asia. His publications have appeared in The Pacific Review; Contemporary Southeast Asia; South East Asia Research; Cambridge Review of International Affairs; Armed Forces and Society; Journal of Strategic Studies; Global Studies Quarterly, and the Review of International Studies.

Julia Marinaccio
(UiB) is a postdoc fellow at the Department of Foreign Languages at the University of Bergen, where she researches Chinese domestic policies and China-Taiwan relations.