Dear SSJ Forum,


The Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies (ICAS) at Temple University, Japan Campus cordially invites you to our public lecture on DEC 6, 2018. All ICAS events are held in English, open to the public, and admission is free unless otherwise noted.


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Bringing RIMPAC to the South China Sea
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Thursday, December 6, 2018 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.)


Temple University, Japan Campus, Azabu Hall, 1F Parliament


Speakers:

Grant Newsham, Senior Research Fellow at the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies
Tuan Pham, U.S. Navy's Strategic Planner


Registration:icas@tuj.temple.edu <mailto:icas@tuj.temple.edu>
* Registration is encouraged, but not required.


Overview:

Building on the successes of the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2018 and leveraging the changing political conditions in the Indo-Pacific highlighted during the 2017 and 2018 Shangri-La Dialogues, and in line with the new muscular National Security and Defense Strategies, the Trump Administration should give serious consideration to conducting RIMPAC 2020 in the South China Sea. If so, the bold trifecta in strategic effects--pushing back against China's unilateral expansionism in the strategic waterway, reinforcing the legal standing of the 2016 International Arbitral Tribunal ruling that invalidated Beijing's Nine-Dash Line claims, and underscoring the universal importance of rule of law and compliance with global norms--will demonstrate that the United States and like-minded nations are willing to stand up for their national interests and shared values. Pham and Newsham will discuss the feasibility of holding RIMPAC 2020 in the South China Sea, and the risks and challenges that need to be overcome.



Speakers:

Grant Newsham is a retired US Marine Officer and a Senior Research Fellow at the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies.

Tuan Pham is a U.S. Navy's Strategic Planner, Maritime Strategist, and China Hand with extensive experience in the Indo-Pacific.

The views expressed therein are their own.