On May 24, 2022, YCAPS hosted Nathan Nagy and Kevin Baumert of the Office of the Legal Adviser at the Department of State (DoS) to speak at our Indo-Pacific Maritime Hour on DoS’s recently released Limits in the Seas study on Chinese maritime claims in the South China Sea. The webinar was moderated by John Bradford, Executive Director of YCAPS, and joined by over 80 participants.
In their presentation, Nathan and Kevin provided historical background on Chinese maritime claims in the South China Sea and discussed main findings from DoS’s January 2022 Limits in the Seas study, which focuses on China’s revised articulation of its maritime claims (post-2016). Following their presentation, commentary was provided by Professor Jay Batongbacal of the University of the Philippines College of Law. The Q&A session that followed included discussion on how competitions for maritime access and resources are playing out between China and other countries, as well as ways in which members of the international community may counter China’s coercion and disinformation regarding its South China Sea claims.