[Workshop] "The Silk Road on the Sea" and international relations in the East Sea: Current status and prospects

Since China launched its “belt” and “maritime silk road” strategies in 2013, international relations in the East Sea have become increasingly complicated.About politics, China strengthens bilateral cooperation with each ASEAN member country to undermine the community character of the bloc.Economically, China is actively campaigning to build the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to compete with existing international financial-banking systems such as the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) - which are heavily influenced by the US and Western countries.. On territory and territorial watersChina is rapidly increasing its reclamation of rocks and coral reefs to build artificial islands and military bases in the Spratly Islands.About culture, China continuously propagates its “sovereignty” over the East Sea, promotes its maritime borders with the “nine-dash line”, especially investing heavily in ocean archaeological activities to “map” underwater archaeological sites even though those sites are completely outside China’s territorial waters... China’s “maritime silk road” strategy makes international relations in the East Sea increasingly complicated. Up to now, there have been many tensions and risks of direct military conflicts. Therefore, studying China’s “maritime silk road” strategy and the current state of international relations in the East Sea has both scientific and practical significance, making a practical contribution to the current struggle to protect the sacred sovereignty of the Fatherland’s seas and islands.

With the support of the Konrad Andenauer Stiftung Foundation (KAS), Federal Republic of Germany, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU Hanoi plans to organize the Workshop:"Maritime Silk Road" and International Relations in the East Sea: Current Status and Prospects. This is a scientific forum for domestic and international researchers, analysts, and strategists to exchange new research content, updated perspectives, and propose appropriate solutions for resolving current disputes in the East Sea. Experts attending the conference will include scientists from China, India, Japan, the Philippines, the United States, and Vietnam, focusing on discussing: China's "maritime silk road" strategy; History and current status of international relations in the East Sea; Forecasting trends in East Sea relations in the coming time.

Time:November 26-27, 2015 (Thursday and Friday)

Location:Hilton Hotel, Hanoi