As the semester winds down and the post-midterm lull leads into the pre-final presentation scramble, ICLP students who want to turn their ever-strengthening reading abilities to following the political controversies of the day will not be disappointed. Recently papers across East Asia have been abuzz with discussion of Hilary Clinton's July 22 statement that the United States will make territorial disputes over the South China Sea a diplomatic priority at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum in Hanoi.

　　In particular, Clinton's statement that Washington "supports a collaborative diplomatic process by all claimants for resolving the various territorial disputes without coercion" has raised hackles in mainland China. Recently the PRC retorted with several editorials in state media outlets like the Global Times and Xinhua arguing that China has not used coercion to expand into the surrounding Yellow, East and South China Seas.

　　Regardless of whether the mainland has coerced Southeast Asian countries into accepting an ever-broadening Chinese sphere of influence (notably at the recent Asean meeting a pro-China consensus of Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar kept territorial disputes in the South China Sea off the official agenda), China's influence has grown tremendously over the past decade. One need only consider the recent arrests of Vietnamese fishers, increasing PLA patrols in its surrounding seas, and louder and louder grumbling about the disputed Tiaoyutai islands to discern China's goal of establishing a sphere of influence in its three surrounding seas.

　　Many observers in the United States, Korea and Japan have welcomed Clinton's recent move as a long-in-coming and necessary step toward curtailing China's push to turn its neighboring seas into Chinese "lakes." With current naval exercises taking place off the east coast of South Korea and Japan participating as an observer, Taiwan has found itself in an increasingly difficult position. On the one hand it would be hard to deny closer economic ties with the mainland are beneficial and necessary to ensuring regional security, but at the same time, some contend Taiwan should not miss the opportunity this rare and relatively bold step from the US presents to push for open seas in East Asia.

　　If Ma Ying-jeou can manage to find a creative balance between mainland China and the US in this instance, he could go a long way to dispelling oft-exaggerated fears that unification with the mainland remains on his long-term agenda or a goal in his heart of hearts. Moreover a united front of South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and the United States in opposing China's uncompromising expansion of territorial interests in East Asia's oceans could prove crucial for regional economic development and security, and in the long-term would allow the development of a more economically balanced and ultimately stable East Asia, which would benefit everyone.

　　Ma, whose specialty as well as passion is maritime law, ought to have more to say on these critical topics than he has thus far - recently Taiwan's minister of the interior asserted Taiwan's control of islands in the Tiaoyutai. If he does speak out, the echo chamber that is the Taiwanese media will no doubt spill its own sea of ink over the affair, providing a great chance to watch in real time, in real Chinese, the potential unfolding of a new era in East Asian international relations.