Discussions at the 7th Annual East Sea Conference in Washington

This year’s conference comes 1 year after a Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled on the Philippines’ contesting of China’s sovereignty claims in the East Sea. Vietnam’s representatives at the event were Tran Truong Thuy, Director of the Foundation for East Sea Studies, and Dang Cam Tu, Deputy Director of the Institute for Strategic Studies, Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam.

The conference’s five major topics were: renewing US leadership in the Asia-Pacific region; developments in the East Sea during the past year; legal and environmental issues and next steps; militarization, coercion, and capacity building; and US policy under the Trump administration.