On June 15, 2012, the East-West center in Washington DC hosted a workshop in anticipation of the 12th BRIT Conference, under the theme of “Maritime Border Issues in Northeast Asia”. The event was supported by the Slavic Research Center, the ‘Major Regional Powers in Eurasia’ Research Project, and ourselves.

Representatives of the Japanese, European and American Border Studies communities appeared with two Washington-based China experts to discuss border issues in the East China and South China Seas in front of around 70 attendees. Former Association of Borderlands Studies President Tony Payan of the University of Texas explained the genesis of border studies as a discipline, while Akihiro Iwashita provided an outline of continental and maritime border issues. China experts Thomas Bickford, of the China Security Affairs Group, and Abraham Denmark, of the National Bureau of Asian Research, spoke about China’s maritime security policy and strategy towards its neighbors. Finally Martin Pratt, of the International Boundaries Research Unit at Durham University, UK, provided a comparative analysis of these issues from an International Legal and Geographical standpoint.

The Border Studies perspective made a big impression on the East Asian Policymakers in attendance, and we can anticipate the likes of BRIT and ABS making more of an impact on the United States’ Eastern seaboard in the future.

A recording of the event is available here.

IWASHITA Akihiro