Regional Maritime Security in East Asia

Abstract

Increasingly, it appears that the status quo of the East Asian maritime region is encountering subtle shifts which are eroding the stability of its condition. Regional states are registering higher levels of strategic anxiety, while increasing evidence suggests tit-for-tat behaviour is on the rise. More coercive activity appears to be replacing the commitment to engagement and peaceable diplomacy. Specific controversies within the East China and South China Seas exemplify the risk to the status quo. Recent patterns of military modernisation materially indicate the fears of regional states with respect to these shifting dynamics. Against this backdrop of the erosion of the maritime stability, this expert workshop aims to: ask whether the current slide in relations may be arrested and, if so, what are the most desirable approaches to discourage the deterioration in behaviour. In the consideration of more cooperative behaviour the workshop deliberates on; the current environment, the conditions under which more successful diplomacy could be enacted, the level of leadership and institutional capacity required, the value of bottom up approaches to maritime security, and the nature of effective policy responses.