'Now', Ep. 3: M. Taylor Fravel on the China Seas

In the 'Flashpoints' article by MIT's M. Taylor Fravel, "Explaining China's Escalation over the Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands", Taylor examines the conflict between China and Japan in the East China Sea. In this Now podcast, senior editor Alan Alexandroff discusses with Taylor the issue that have raised tensions there but then goes on to explores in some depth with Taylor the many issues in the South China Sea. The tensions in the South China Sea have been in the headlines recently with the award by the Law of the Sea arbitration tribunal (a claim was filed by the Philippines in 2013 against China) that undermined, among other things, the Chinese historical claims identified by the now famous nine-dash line. Though the United States has taken no position over the claims to sovereignty by any of the claimants - China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei - the United States has expressed the continuing importance of the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and the need to peacefully resolve the contending claims. All this is explored in the interview with Taylor.