Renato Cruz De Castro, professor of International Studies at De La Salle University in the Philippines, will speak at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 21, in the Toyota Auditorium of UT’s Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy.
His lecture, “The South China Sea Dispute: US-Philippines-China Security Relations,” is part of the Baker Center’s Global Lecture series.
The event is free and open to the public. Parking is available for $2 an hour in Volunteer Hall Garage.
His talk will look at the 2014 Philippine-U.S. Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. Approved in 2016 by the Philippine Supreme Court, the EDCA sets in motion increased deployment of American aircraft and personnel in the Philippines through five Philippine Air Force bases. From there, US airpower can project deep into China’s near sea defense zone.
De Castro is currently on sabbatical from De La Salle and is based at the East-West Center in Washington, DC. He is the US-ASEAN Fulbright Initiative researcher for the Philippines.
His research interests include Philippine-US security relations, Philippine defense and foreign policies, US defense and foreign policies in East Asia and the international politics of East Asia. He has written more than 80 articles on international relations and security and has edited works in the Philippines, South Korea, Canada, Malaysia, France, Singapore, Taiwan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States.
De Castro earned his doctorate at the University of South Carolina and has held positions or taught at the National Defense College, the Foreign Service Institute and the US Department of State.
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CONTACT:
Nissa Dahlin-Brown (865-974-8681, nissa@utk.edu)
Tyra Haag (865-974-5064, tyra.haag@tennessee.edu)