American Military Intervention in Unconventional War by
A study of the major U.S. military interventions in unconventional war, this book looks at four wars that occurred while the U.S. was a superpower in the post-war WW II period and one in the Philippines in 1898.
Arc of Empire by
Although conventionally treated as separate, America's four wars in Asia were actually phases in a sustained U.S. bid for regional dominance, according to Michael H. Hunt and Steven I. Levine. This effort unfolded as an imperial project in which military power and the imposition of America's political will were crucial. Devoting equal attention to Asian and American perspectives, the authors follow the long arc of conflict across seventy-five years from the Philippines through Japan and Korea to Vietnam, tracing along the way American ambition, ascendance, and ultimate defeat. They show how these wars are etched deeply in eastern Asia's politics and culture. The authors encourage readers to confront the imperial pattern in U.S. history with implications for today's Middle Eastern conflicts. They also offer a deeper understanding of China's rise and Asia's place in today's world. For instructors: An Online Instructor's Manual is available, with teaching tips for using "Arc of Empire" in graduate and undergraduate courses on America's wars in Asia. It includes lecture topics, chronologies, and sample discussion questions.
Everyday Life in Southeast Asia by
This lively survey of the peoples, cultures, and societies of Southeast Asia introduces a region of tremendous geographic, linguistic, historical, and religious diversity. Encompassing both mainland and island countries, these engaging essays describe personhood and identity, family and household organization, nation-states, religion, popular culture and the arts, the legacies of war and recovery, globalization, and the environment. Throughout, the focus is on the daily lives and experiences of ordinary people. Most of the essays are original to this volume, while a few are widely taught classics. All were chosen for their timeliness and interest, and are ideally suited for the classroom.
Fishing for Fairness: Poverty, Morality and Marine Resource Regulation in the Philippines by
Fishers--Philippines--Calamian Group--Attitudes.
Working poor--Philippines--Calamian Group--Attitudes.
Marine resources conservation--Government policy--Philippines.
Marine resources--Philippines--Management.
Fishes--Conservation--Philippines--Calamian Group.
A Generation Later by
Rural industries--Philippines--Palawan Island.
Family farms--Philippines--Palawan Island.
Households--Philippines--Palawan Island.
Palawan Island (Philippines)--Population.
Higher Education in Southeast Asia by
This is the first book to systematically chart and comparatively assess the trend towards private higher education in South East Asia. Caught between conflicting imperatives of spiralling demand, and limited resources, the balance between public and private higher education systems in South East, South, and East Asia has shifted markedly. The author's detailed case studies of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Viet Nam discuss and analyse significant policy issues and touch on key debates surrounding globalisation, including economic globalisation and structural adjustment, and the pressures of cultural globalisation, particularly the role of the English language. Debates surrounding the role of higher education in the 'knowledge economy', GATS and cross border trade in educational services are also treated, including the rise of offshore campuses in countries such as Malaysia and Viet Nam. What is argued is that we are witnessing not merely a changing balance between public and private sectors, but a blurring of borders between them, with public HEIs now often behaving more like private, for-profit institutions. The book charts and illustrates these trends, posing questions about their meaning, including issues of transparency, equity, and what the reforms might mean for traditional conceptions of public good in higher education.　
Narrowing the Development Gap in Asean by
An important part of the vision of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is to ensure that the benefits of development and economic integration are equitably shared by all member states and their citizens. ASEAN's work therefore includes activities designed to narrow the development gap between ASEAN member states (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam) and between sub-regions within ASEAN. Written by a team of internationally recognised experts in development economics, this book communicates the latest findings on narrowing the development gap in a practical, policy-relevant way, in a format that can influence decision makers within ASEAN member states and international donors. The research presented is timely, as significant data on development achievements to the sub-national level now exists in most ASEAN countries. There have been significant development achievements in many ASEAN countries over the last 20 years, but the ASEAN region continues to be characterised by significant development gaps, particularly in income. Gaps in development achievement are also seen at the regional and sub-national levels. This book offers a better understanding of these gaps, as they exist in 2012, and provides an important context that can inform the strategic needs of decision makers in the ASEAN region. Due to improvements in measuring poverty and well-being, including through the use of multidimensional indicators, this book gives policy makers and scholars in development economics, development policy and Asian studies well-grounded insights into the nature of the development gaps within and between ASEAN countries as well as high-level policy advice on those interventions that can contribute to a narrowing of the development gap.
Policing America's Empire by
At the dawn of the twentieth century, the U.S. Army swiftly occupied Manila and then plunged into a decade-long pacification campaign with striking parallels to today's war in Iraq. Armed with cutting-edge technology from America's first information revolution, the U.S. colonial regime created the most modern police and intelligence units anywhere under the American flag. In Policing America's Empire Alfred W. McCoy shows how this imperial panopticon slowly crushed the Filipino revolutionary movement with a lethal mix of firepower, surveillance, and incriminating information. Even after Washington freed its colony and won global power in 1945, it would intervene in the Philippines periodically for the next half-century--using the country as a laboratory for counterinsurgency and rearming local security forces for repression. In trying to create a democracy in the Philippines, the United States unleashed profoundly undemocratic forces that persist to the present day. But security techniques bred in the tropical hothouse of colonial rule were not contained, McCoy shows, at this remote periphery of American power. Migrating homeward through both personnel and policies, these innovations helped shape a new federal security apparatus during World War I. Once established under the pressures of wartime mobilization, this distinctively American system of public-private surveillance persisted in various forms for the next fifty years, as an omnipresent, sub rosa matrix that honeycombed U.S. society with active informers, secretive civilian organizations, and government counterintelligence agencies. In each succeeding global crisis, this covert nexus expanded its domestic operations, producing new contraventions of civil liberties--from the harassment of labor activists and ethnic communities during World War I, to the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, all the way to the secret blacklisting of suspected communists during the Cold War. "With a breathtaking sweep of archival research, McCoy shows how repressive techniques developed in the colonial Philippines migrated back to the United States for use against people of color, aliens, and really any heterodox challenge to American power. This book proves Mark Twain's adage that you cannot have an empire abroad and a republic at home."--Bruce Cumings, University of Chicago "This book lays the Philippine body politic on the examination table to reveal the disease that lies within--crime, clandestine policing, and political scandal. But McCoy also draws the line from Manila to Baghdad, arguing that the seeds of controversial counterinsurgency tactics used in Iraq were sown in the anti-guerrilla operations in the Philippines. His arguments are forceful."--Sheila S. Coronel, Columbia University "Conclusively, McCoy's Policing America's Empire is an impressive historical piece of research that appeals not only to Southeast Asianists but also to those interested in examining the historical embedding and institutional ontogenesis of post-colonial states' police power apparatuses and their apparently inherent propensity to implement illiberal practices of surveillance and repression."--Salvador Santino F. Regilme, Jr., Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs "McCoy's remarkable book . . . does justice both to its author's deep knowledge of Philippine history as well as to his rare expertise in unmasking the seamy undersides of state power."--POLAR: Political and Legal Anthropology Review Winner, George McT. Kahin Prize, Southeast Asian Council of the Association for Asian Studies
The Shadow of Torture by
The photographs from Abu Ghraib triggered a debate on torture in the United States that has been led with a significant amount of visibility. What has been noticeably absent, however, is a thorough historical contextualization of US torture following September 11, 2001. The Shadow of Torture analyzes the debates on torture during the Vietnam War and the Philippine-American War and shows that the current controversy did not arise out of a political vacuum but reflects and draws upon pre-existing discursive contexts and practices.
Shaping Policy Reform and Peer Review In Southeast Asia by
The Southeast Asian region has experienced remarkable economic dynamism in the past few decades. An interesting feature of recent developments in the region, is that in spite of its diversity, several initiatives have been launched towards integration.
The peer review mechanism has been a tried and tested instrument for OECD member states to work together successfully over the past decades. This tool could benefit the Southeast Asian region as it helps identify good practices, establish standards and principles and ultimately improve the performance of participating economies. This publication presents the proceedings of a conference in which the possible application of peer reviews to address regional and domestic challenges in Southeast Asia were discussed.
South China Sea by
China's rise has upset the global balance of power, and the first place to feel the strain is Beijing's back yard: the South China Sea. For decades tensions have smoldered in the region, but today the threat of a direct confrontation among superpowers grows ever more likely. This important book is the first to make clear sense of the South Sea disputes. Bill Hayton, a journalist with extensive experience in the region, examines the high stakes involved for rival nations that include Vietnam, India, Taiwan, the Philippines, and China, as well as the United States, Russia, and others. Hayton also lays out the daunting obstacles that stand in the way of peaceful resolution. Through lively stories of individuals who have shaped current conflicts-businessmen, scientists, shippers, archaeologists, soldiers, diplomats, and more-Hayton makes understandable the complex history and contemporary reality of the South China Sea. He underscores its crucial importance as the passageway for half the world's merchant shipping and one-third of its oil and gas. Whoever controls these waters controls the access between Europe, the Middle East, South Asia, and the Pacific. The author critiques various claims and positions (that China has historic claim to the Sea, for example), overturns conventional wisdoms (such as America's overblown fears of China's nationalism and military resurgence), and outlines what the future may hold for this clamorous region of international rivalry."
State Structure and Economic Development in Southeast Asia Structuring Development by
Why do some small, developing countries industrialize and others don't? What factors account for different economic performance among states that are vulnerable to external shocks, crony capitalism, and political instability? This book argues that the answer lies in the structuring of state power, specifically the way different sets of governing elites - political leaders and economic technocrats - are embedded in political organisations and state institutions, and the way these elites relate to each other in the economic development policy process. Conducting a comparative historical analysis of Thailand and the Philippines, the book argues that the institutional settings of governing elites influence economic outcomes. In Thailand, political power traditionally connects to state institutions in ways that has limited the impact of political turnovers and global downturns - conducive to long-term industrial activities. In contrast, Philippine state power derives from family networks that merge social and political power, suited to fast-moving, short-term commercial interests. In focusing on this political and institutional story, the author analyses the current development dilemmas of countries, weighed down by historical legacies of unstable regimes, dependency, and social conflict, and how they are likely to develop in the future.
State Structure and Economic Development in Southeast Asia Structuring Development by
Why do some small, developing countries industrialize and others don't? What factors account for different economic performance among states that are vulnerable to external shocks, crony capitalism, and political instability? This book argues that the answer lies in the structuring of state power, specifically the way different sets of governing elites - political leaders and economic technocrats - are embedded in political organisations and state institutions, and the way these elites relate to each other in the economic development policy process. Conducting a comparative historical analysis of Thailand and the Philippines, the book argues that the institutional settings of governing elites influence economic outcomes. In Thailand, political power traditionally connects to state institutions in ways that has limited the impact of political turnovers and global downturns - conducive to long-term industrial activities. In contrast, Philippine state power derives from family networks that merge social and political power, suited to fast-moving, short-term commercial interests. In focusing on this political and institutional story, the author analyses the current development dilemmas of countries, weighed down by historical legacies of unstable regimes, dependency, and social conflict, and how they are likely to develop in the future.
Terrorism and Development by
This report examines the social and economic development policies enacted by three countries?Israel, the Philippines, and the United Kingdom?to inhibit a resurgence of terrorism within their jurisdictions. Drawing on a broad research base, including numerous first-hand interviews, the authors outline the initiatives implemented by each country then assess their effectiveness, with the aim of informing U.S. decisionmakers of the benefits and pitfalls of such initiatives as they develop policy to counter terrorism. Among their conclusions are the following: Social and economic development policies can weaken local support for terrorist activities and discourage terrorist recruits, and such policies can be used as a stick to discourage terrorism. They caution, however, that the ability of these policies to inhibit terrorism depends on their implementation, and inadequately funded such policies are likely to renew support for terrorism.
Ancient Religions of the Austronesian World by
Austronesia is the vast oceanic region which stretches from Madagascar to Taiwan to New Zealand. Encompassing both scattered archipelagos and major landmasses, Austronesia - derived from the Latin australis, 'southern', and Greek nesos, 'island' - is used primarily as a linguistic term, designating a family of languages spoken by peoples with a shared heritage. Julian Baldick, a celebrated historian of ancient religion, here argues that the diverse inhabitants of the Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia, New Guinea and Oceania show a common inheritance that extends beyond language. This commonality is found above all in mythology and ritual, which reach back to an ancient, prehistoric past. From around 1250 BCE the original proto-Oceanic speakers migrated eastwards from southeast Asia. Navigating by the sun, the stars, bird flight, the swells of the sea and cloud-swathed mountain islands, Austronesian voyagers used canoes and outriggers to settle on new territories. They developed a unified pattern of religion characterised by mortuary rites, headhunting and agrarian rituals of the annual calendar, culminating in a post-harvest festival often sexual in nature. This unique overview of Austronesian belief and tradition will be essential reading for students of religion, prehistory and anthropology.
Corruption and Anti-Corruption by
Misconduct in office.
Political corruption--Economic aspects.
Political corruption--Prevention.
Misconduct in office--Prevention.
Culture, Religion and Conflict in Muslim Southeast Asia by
By examining the sometimes surprising and unexpected roles that culture and religion have played in mitigating or exacerbating conflicts, this book explores the cultural repertoires from which Southeast Asian political actors have drawn to negotiate the pluralism that has so long been characteristic of the region. Focusing on the dynamics of identity politics and the range of responses to the socio-political challenges of religious and ethnic pluralism, the authors assembled in this book illuminate the principal regional discourses that attempt to make sense of conflict and tensions. They examine local notions of "dialogue," "reconciliation," "civility" and "conflict resolution" and show how varying interpretations of these terms have informed the responses of different social actors across Southeast Asia to the challenges of conflict, culture and religion. The book demonstrates how stumbling blocks to dialogue and reconciliation can and have been overcome in different parts of Southeast Asia and identifies a range of actors who might be well placed to make useful contributions, propose remedies, and initiate action towards negotiating the region's pluralism. This book provides a much needed regional and comparative analysis that makes a significant contribution to a better understanding of the interfaces between region and politics in Southeast Asia.
Dictionary of the Modern Politics of Southeast Asia by
The past two decades since the end of the Cold War have been years of remarkable change and transformation for Southeast Asia. Long seen as an arena for superpower rivalry, Southeast Asia is increasingly coming into its own by locating itself at the forefront of regional integration initiatives that involve not only the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, but major external powers such as the United States, China, India, Japan, and Australia as well. At the same time, the past two decades has seen the revival of old animosities as well as the emergence of new security challenges confronting the region. Old animosities include unresolved territorial disputes, while new challenges range from regional and global financial crises, terrorism, and pandemics. Significant changes within the ten Southeast Asian countries covered in this book have also transpired that have affected not only the complexion of domestic politics, but have also impacted regional diplomacy as well, such as the creation of potentially the eleventh "Southeast Asian" country - Timor Leste. Extensively updated and revised in light of these changes and developments, this fourth edition of Dictionary of the Modern Politics of Southeast Asia contains profiles of each Southeast Asian country. Following this, it provides more than 450 alphabetically arranged individual entries providing detailed accounts and analyses on major episodes and treaties, political parties and institutions, civil society movements, and regional and international organizations. Biographies of significant political leaders and personalities, both past and present, are also provided. Entries are comprehensively cross-referenced, and an index by country directs readers to all entries concerning a particular country. The Dictionary also includes an extensive bibliography that serves as a guide to further reading. It is an essential reference tool for all scholars and students of Asian politics and international affairs, and a vital resource for journalists, diplomats, policy-makers, and others with an interest in the region.
https://usnwc.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma991001650349706746&context=L&vid=01USNWC_INST:01USNWC&lang=en&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=AlwaysVisible&query=any,contains,%09East%20Asia%20Decentrali by
The past two decades have witnessed a fundamental transformation in the structure of government across East Asia. Prior to 1990 most East Asian countries were highly centralized; today, decentralization is ubiquitous throughout the region. From China to Thailand, sub-national governments are now responsible for the delivery of critical services and account for a significant proportion of total public expenditure. In just two decades, local and regional authorities have emerged as the organizational fulcrum on which much of the weight of development now falls.'East Asia Decentralizes' is the first attempt to look systematically at this phenomenon throughout East Asia. It is broken into four main sections. Chapters 1 and 2 provide an overview of the intergovernmental structures and frameworks that have emerged thus far, assess the status of the decentralization process, and identify key reform challenges for the future. Chapters 3-7 examine various dimensions of local and intergovernmental finance: sub-national borrowing; local revenues; public expenditure management; and the impact of the process on inter-regional equity and poverty reduction. The management of human resources is also covered here. Chapters 8-10 focus on the impact of decentralization on investment and service-delivery in three key sectors: health, education and basic infrastructure. The final two chapters (11-12) look at issues connected with local accountability and community driven development.
Guardians of Empire by
In a comprehensive study of four decades of military policy, Brian McAllister Linn offers the first detailed history of the U.S. Army in Hawaii and the Philippines between 1902 and 1940. Most accounts focus on the months preceding the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. By examining the years prior to the outbreak of war, Linn provides a new perspective on the complex evolution of events in the Pacific. Exhaustively researched, Guardians of Empire traces the development of U.S. defense policy in the region, concentrating on strategy, tactics, internal security, relations with local communities, and military technology. Linn challenges earlier studies which argue that army officers either ignored or denigrated the Japanese threat and remained unprepared for war. He demonstrates instead that from 1907 onward military commanders in both Washington and the Pacific were vividly aware of the danger, that they developed a series of plans to avert it, and that they in fact identified--even if they could not solve--many of the problems that would become tragically apparent on 7 December 1941.
International Mediation Bias and Peacemaking by
This book examines the effect of biased and neutral mediators in civil wars. Based on analysis of both global data and case studies of contemporary peace processes, including India and Norway in Sri Lanka, China in Cambodia, US in Israel/Palestine, and Russia in Georgia, the book makes two main contributions. First, it explores the role of biased mediators in contemporary peace processes. The author develops a theory explaining why biased mediators are more effective than their neutral counterparts and the book identifies four different mechanisms through which biased mediators can be effective peace-brokers. By developing a comprehensive set of mechanisms to explain bias mediation, the work deepens understanding of biased mediators in general, and their role in resolving civil conflict in particular. The second contribution offered is a novel way of measuring mediation success. Previous research has concentrated on settlement, behavior, or implementation. While these conceptualisations of mediation success all have merit, they fail to address how the basic incompatible positions are regulated. This book focuses on mediators' ability to regulate core compatibilities by crafting institutional peace arrangements that generally are considered to enhance the prospect for durable peace. This approach has wider implications for peace and conflict research by bringing together research on durability of peace and studies on international mediation, two fields of research which hitherto have been kept apart. This book will be of much interest to students of international mediation, conflict management, civil wars, security studies and IR in general.
Mark Twain and the Colonel by
Twain, Mark, 1835-1910--Influence.
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919--Influence.
United States--Civilization--1865-1918.
Muslim Rulers and Rebels by
In this first ground-level account of the Muslim separatist rebellion in the Philippines, Thomas McKenna challenges prevailing anthropological analyses of nationalism as well as their underlying assumptions about the interplay of culture and power. He examines Muslim separatism against a background of more than four hundred years of political relations among indigenous Muslim rulers, their subjects, and external powers seeking the subjugation of Philippine Muslims. He also explores the motivations of the ordinary men and women who fight in armed separatist struggles and investigates the formation of nationalist identities. A skillful meld of historical detail and ethnographic research, Muslim Rulers and Rebels makes a compelling contribution to the study of protest, rebellion, and revolution worldwide.
New Dynamics in Us-China Relations by
Washington's strategic pivot to Asia and Beijing's pursuit of new strategic and security interests in the region have led to increasing tensions between the two powers. US leaders have stressed that their increased interest in Asia is driven by a desire to benefit from the thriving regional economies, as well as to play the leading role in maintaining peace and stability in the region. However, Beijing is particularly concerned about US efforts to consolidate its alliances and deepen security partnerships with a number of regional states. Given the centrality of the two powers to the strategic stability and economic development of the region, these new dynamics in US-China relations must be properly understood and appropriately handled. This book examines the growing Sino-US strategic rivalry in the Asia-Pacific alongside the strategies employed in the management of this relationship. In turn, it illuminates the sources of conflict and cooperation in US-China relations, looking specifically at maritime disputes, economic relations, energy security, non-traditional security, defence and strategic forces, and Taiwan. Finally, it explores the role of regional states in shaping US-China relations, and in doing so covers the influence of Japan, India, the Korean Peninsula, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Cambodia. With chapters from leading scholars and analysts this book deals with a diverse range of issues including strategic rivalry, expanding regional trade relations, non-traditional security issues, the role of energy security, maritime security and how Asian states view their relations with the US and China respectively. New Dynamics in US-China Relations will be of huge interest to students and scholars of Asian politics, US politics, international relation and security studies, as well as practitioners involved in framing and implementing foreign, security and economic policy pertaining to the Asia Pacific.
Party Politics in Southeast Asia by
Contributing to the growing discourse on political parties in Asia, this book looks at parties in Southeast Asia's most competitive electoral democracies of Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. It highlights the diverse dynamics of party politics in the region and provides new insights into organizational structures, mobilizational strategies and the multiple dimensions of linkages between political parties and their voters. The book focuses on the prominence of clientelistic practices and strategies, both within parties as well as between parties and their voters. It demonstrates that clientelism is extremely versatile and can take many forms, ranging from traditional, personalized relationships between a patron and a client to the modern reincarnations of broker-driven network clientelism that is often based on more anonymous relations. The book also discusses how contemporary political parties often combine clientelistic practices with more formal patterns of organization and communication, thus raising questions about neat analytical dichotomies. Straddling the intersection between political science and area studies, this book is of interest to students and scholars of contemporary Southeast Asian politics, and political scientists and Asian Studies specialists with a broader research interest in comparative democratization studies.
Popular Culture and the State and in East and Southeast Asia by
This volume examines the relations between popular culture production and export and the state in East and Southeast Asia including the urban centres and middle-classes of Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Thailand, and the Philippines. It addresses the shift in official thinking toward the role of popular culture in the political life of states brought about by the massive circulation of cultural commodities and the possibilities for attaining "soft power". In contrast to earlier studies, this volume pays particular attention to the role of states and cross-state cultural interactions in these processes. It is the first major attempt to look at these issues comparatively and to provide an important corrective to the limitations of existing scholarship on popular culture in Asia that have usually neglected its political aspects. As part of this move, the essays in this volume suggest a widening of disciplinary perspectives. Hitherto, the preponderance of relevant studies has been in cultural and media fields, anthropology or history. Here the contributors explicitly draw on other disciplinary perspectives - political science and international relations, political economy, law, and policy studies - to explore the complex interrelationships between the state, politics and economics, and popular culture. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of Asian culture, society and politics, the sociology of culture, political science and media studies.
Routledge Handbook of Southeast Asian Politics by
This Handbook provides a comprehensive analysis of the major themes that have defined the politics of Southeast Asia. It provides a comprehensive and cutting-edge examination of this important subject. The introductory chapter provides an overview of the theoretical and ideological themes that have dominated the study of the region's politics and presents the different ways the complex politics of the region have been understood. The contributions by leading scholars in the field cover a range of broad questions about the dynamics of politics. The Handbook analyses how the dominant political and social coalitions of the region were forged in the Cold War era, and assesses the complex processes of transition towards various forms of democratic politics. How institutions and systems of governance are being forged in an increasingly global environment is discussed and whether civil society in Southeast Asia has really evolved as an independent sphere of social and political activity. The Handbook examines how national governments are dealing with growing tensions within the region as matters such as labour, human rights and the environment spill beyond national boundaries, and how they are establishing a place in the new global framework. By engaging the Southeast Asian experience more firmly with larger debates about modern political systems, the Handbook is an essential reference tool for students and scholars of Political Science and Southeast Asian studies.
The South China Sea Maritime Dispute by
The South China Sea is a major strategic waterway for trade and oil shipments to Japan, Korea as well as southern China. It has been the focus of a maritime dispute which has continued now for over six decades, with competing claims from China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and Brunei. Recently China has become more assertive in pressing its claims - harassing Vietnamese fishing vessels and seizing reefs in the Philippine claim zone. China has insisted that it has "indisputable sovereignty" over the area and has threatened to enforce its claim. All of this is unsettling and draws in the United States which is concerned about freedom of navigation in the area. The US has been supporting the Philippines and has been developing security ties with Vietnam as a check upon China. This book examines the conflict potential of the current dispute, it discusses how the main claimants and the United States view the issue, and assesses the prospects for a resolution of the problem.