12 April 2012

“U.S. ‘Pivot’ to the Pacific: U.S./China Relations” panel sponsored by Harvard Extension International Relations Club and The Diplomat, Harvard University, Friday 13 April 2012, 7-9 PM.

“AMERICA’S PIVOT TO THE PACIFIC”–U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS IN 2012

Harvard University Science Center, Hall C

One Oxford St., Cambridge, MA, 02238

(617) 495-2779

(One block north of the Harvard Square T stop).

With the United States winding down wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, President Barack Obama has indicated his administration’s intention to refocus the country’s diplomatic and military efforts on the Asia-Pacific. But what does this mean for the future of U.S.-China relations? And for U.S. foreign policy generally? How might China respond? The Diplomat presents a high-level panel of analysts and policymakers who will be offering answers to these and other key questions.

The evening’s featured speaker will be Rep. J. Randy Forbes, R-Va., chairman of the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee and founder and co-chairman of the Congressional China Caucus. He has written extensively on U.S. defense policy, China’s military build-up, Asia-Pacific security and military concerns, as well as America’s new Air/Sea battle concept.

Tufts University and Naval War College faculty will discuss U.S.-China security relations in the Western Pacific on Friday 13 April from 7-9 pm in Hall C of Harvard University Science Center. Harvard University, Harvard Extension International Relations Club (HEIRC), and The Diplomat will host a panel discussion with special guests Dr. William Martel, Dr. James Holmes, Dr. Andrew Erickson, Prof. Peter Dutton, and Dr. Toshi Yoshihara. After presentations by all guests there will be a Q & A section for the audience to participate in.

Format

Each speaker will give a brief talk followed by a Question and Answer session. The discussion will be taped and later available on The Diplomat website. If you can’t make it, please log on to The Diplomat’s Facebook page and send your questions, the best of which will be posed to the panel.

Cost

Free to the public (You do not need to be a Harvard Student to attend)

Sponsors

•Harvard University

•Harvard University Extension School International Relations Club

•The Diplomat

Andrew S. Erickson—“Not Pivoting but Persistence: U.S.-China Military Dynamics in the Near Seas”

The U.S. is not “returning” to the Asia-Pacific, it never left in the first place. China is already a world-class military power—but not in the ways that many have charged. The U.S. military has many options to prevent the People’s Liberation Army from paralyzing its forces, yet it will fail if it continues business as usual. Though Beijing and Washington have considerable shared interests and potential for cooperation, the most difficult period for them to achieve “competitive coexistence” may already have begun.