In 2011, China cut the cables of some seismic survey ships, and suddenly the South China Sea dispute started to get worldwide coverage. There has been so much attention and debate concerning the South China Sea dispute. This firecely contested region remains a sensitive area in China’s quest to balance its position with other global power. Does China have the desirable naval power to sustain its interest in the South Sea? Given Washington’s close ties with many South Asian countries, how does the US balance its interest in the region? Can we solve the conflict in the disputed region by diplomatic efforts?
We invite Bill Hayton, Producer at BBC World News and Chatham House Associate Fellow and Author to discuss.
Bill Hayton
Bill Hayton is the author of ‘The South China Sea: The Struggle for Power in Asia’ named as one of The Economist’s books of the year in 2014, and ‘Vietnam: Rising Dragon’, published in 2010. He has worked for the BBC since 1998 and currently works for BBC World News television in London. In 2006-07 he was the BBC’s reporter in Vietnam and spent a year in 2013 embedded with Myanmar’s state broadcaster working on media reform. He is also an Associate Fellow with the Asia Programme of Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs. He has given presentations about South China Sea and Southeast Asian issues for think-tanks and government institutions in the UK, US, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. His written work has been published in The Economist, the South China Morning Post, The Diplomat and the National Interest, among others.
