On July 8, 2024, ICAS Executive Director Dr. Nong Hong held an academic visit in the Greater Boston area, joined by Yilun Zhang, ICAS Trade n’ Technology Program Manager, Research Associate, and Amanda Jin, ICAS Research Assistant. Mr. Jinsong Xi, Vice President of National Institute for South China Sea Studies (NISCSS), and Dr. Zhenwei Cai from NISCSS also participated in the group visit and academic exchanges.
At Harvard Kennedy School, ICAS and NISCSS scholars had a round table discussion with Professor Henry Lee, Program Director of Belfer Center Environment and Natural Resources Program and other fellows of the Belfer Center. The discussion addressed topics including U.S.-China academic exchanges, decarbonization policy and blue carbon efforts in China, as well as multilateral governance and sustainable development in the Arctic region.
At the MIT, the group engaged in academic exchanges with Dr. Taylor Fravel, Director of the MIT Security Studies Program, and other researchers in the program.The group discussed recent events, current landscape, multilateral engagements and de-escalation possibilities in the South China Sea, especially in relation to China’s position in the region and the U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty. The group also briefly talked about the foreign policy impacts of the upcoming U.S. election.
