For the second year in a row, the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung co-organized with the Asian Institute of Management and the Foreign Service Institute a conference on “Maritime Challenges in the Asia Pacific: Moving Towards Political, Environmental, and Functional Cooperation.” This was held on 18 November 2016 in Makati City. DFA Assistant Secretary Hellen de la Vega delivered opening remarks on behalf of Secretary of Foreign Affairs Perfecto Yasay, Jr. who was out of the country. Presentors included experts from China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
The first part of the program addressed political and legal issues following the release of the Arbitral Tribunal award in the Philippines v. China case, while the second panel looked at the impact of the disputes on marine environment and the economy. A third panel explored prospects for cooperation. Dr. Baviera and APPFI fellow Prof Jay Batongbacal were presentors in the first panel.
Other co-organizers of the event were the AIM Rizalino S. Navarro Policy Center for Competitiveness, and the Ruhr-University-Bochum.