Show Notes
The waters of the South China Sea - including areas the Philippines refers to as the West Philippine Sea - are at the centre of some of the Indo-Pacific’s most important maritime disputes. These waters bring together competing territorial and maritime claims, strategic interests, and the rights and interests of coastal states. They are also vital to fishing communities and populations whose livelihoods and security depend on access to the sea.
How maritime rights, jurisdiction, and access are interpreted and managed has implications for regional stability and international law. The future of freedom of navigation, the peaceful resolution of disputes, who has access to resources, and the ability of states to manage differences without coercion are questions with significance well beyond the South China Sea.
What does the situation in the West Philippine Sea reveal about the resilience of international law? How are regional states responding to the pressures of great-power competition while advancing and protecting their maritime rights? And what are the human dimensions of these disputes: for fishing communities, coast guard personnel, and coastal populations whose lives are shaped by what happens in these waters?
A La Trobe Centre for Global Security event in association with Australians for Philippine Human Rights Network
Panel:
Rear Admiral Jay Tristan Tarriela (spokesperson, Philippine Coast Guard on West Philippine Sea issues)
Christian Esguerra (political journalist and educator)
Dr Lupita Wijaya (Research Fellow, La Trobe Centre for Global Security)
Professor Bec Strating (Director, La Trobe Centre for Global Security)(Chair)
Held on 29th September, 2026.
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