China, Japan, and the East China Sea Territorial Dispute: An Experience of Bi-National Initiatives for Conflict Resolution

China, Japan, and the East China Sea Territorial Dispute: An Experience of Bi-National Initiatives for Conflict Resolution
5:30-7:00pm, October 8 (Tuesday), 2013

School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (S-CAR), George Mason University
5183 Metropolitan Building

3434 Washington Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22201

Public seminar hosted by S-CAR’s Center for Peacemaking Practice

Presenters:
· Zheng Wang, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University & Global Fellow, The Wilson Center
· Tatsushi Arai, PhD, Fellow, Center for Peacemaking Practice, SCAR-GMU & Associate Professor of Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation, School for International Training (SIT) Graduate Institute

The territorial dispute between China and Japan over the East China Sea has historical roots and deeply affects US foreign policy in the Asia Pacific. Despite the passage of time since the Japanese government’s July 2012 decision to purchase the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands – strategically located islets that China considers as its own territory – risks of accidental incidents and military conflict remain high. There are, on the other hand, emerging opportunities of interaction between the two sides seeking practical ways of deescalating the tension. This seminar, led jointly by the Chinese and Japanese alumni of S-CAR’s PhD program, seeks to explore challenges and opportunities of Sino-Japan relations in search of a new way of coexistence. It will explore how the theory and practice of conflict resolution – a concept still unfamiliar in East Asia – will enable Japan and China to approach this territorial dispute differently than before. The two presenters will share their practical experience in having jointly conducted China-Japan dialogues over the past year, including an Interactive Conflict Resolution (ICR) seminar they co-facilitated earlier this year at SCAR’s Point of View dialogue center. They will also present the results of a joint China-Japan research project, which resulted in: T. Arai, S. Goto, and Z. Wang, eds. 2013. Clash of National Identities: China, Japan, and the East China Sea Territorial Dispute (Washington DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars).

Refreshments will be served after the seminar, for informal exchange.

For more information about the China-Japan project under S-CAR’s Center for Peacemaking Practice, this link provides further details and leads to an electronic copy of the Wilson Center publication mentioned above.