You are warmly invited to a special guest lecture with Zoilo A. Velasco, the Deputy Head of Mission, Consul General and Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations of the Philippine Embassy and Permanent Mission in Vienna. 

The South China Sea is a crucial route for maritime shipping, rich in marine resources, and holds huge reserves of oil and natural gas. It is also considered a flashpoint for international conflict due to the overlapping territorial and maritime claims among the coastal states, including China and the Philippines – a treaty ally of the United States. In 2013, the Philippines brought a case against China to arbitration under UNCLOS. The 2016 tribunal ruled in favor of the Philippines, rejecting China’s nine-dash line and finding violations of Philippine sovereign rights. As China does not recognize the ruling and continues unilateral actions, questions remain about the future of a rules-based order in the region. In this lecture, Zoilo A. Velasco will discuss the Philippines’ perspective on the ruling and current developments in the South China Sea.

When?: October 17 (Fri), 2025, 18:30–20:00

Where?: Seminar Room SIN1, Hof 2, Spitalgasse 2, AAKH Campus, 1090 Vienna (map)

To sign up, please send an e-mail to alfred.gerstl@univie.ac.at.