Abstract

A hidden crisis is unfolding across the South China Sea. While regional powers work to strengthen their claims to disputed waters and territories there, the marine environment in which they manoeuvre has been declining to critical levels. In recent decades, increased fishing, dredging, and land fill, along with giant clam harvesting, have taken a devastating toll on thousands of species found nowhere else on earth.

Over the past year, AMTI and the China Ocean Institute conducted research to study these threats using commercial satellite imagery and reconstructed statistics on fishing activity in the South China Sea. The results are catalogued in a digital report which presents the most complete picture to date of the ecological damage wrought by island building, giant clam harvesting, and overfishing.

About the Speakers

Gregory B. Poling directs the Southeast Asia Program and Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where he is also a senior fellow. He is a leading expert on the South China Sea disputes and conducts research on U.S. alliances and partnerships, democratization and governance in Southeast Asia, and maritime security across the Indo-Pacific. He is the author of the recently published On Dangerous Ground: America’s Century in the South China Sea, along with various works on U.S. relations with Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Southeast Asia at large. His writings have been featured in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, the Wall Street Journal, and the Naval War College Review, among others.  Mr. Poling received an MA in international affairs from American University and a BA in history and philosophy from St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

Harrison Prétat is deputy director and fellow with the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). His research focuses include maritime security, U.S.-China relations, international law, and multilateralism in Asia. He holds an MA in international relations from Syracuse University.

Tabitha Grace Mallory is Founder and CEO of the China Ocean Institute and Affiliate Professor of the University of Washington, Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies. Dr. Mallory specializes in Chinese foreign and environmental policy. Dr. Mallory holds a Ph.D. (with distinction) and an M.A. in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).