Sunday, February 11, 2007, 11:30 am – 12:45 pm
The rise of the middle class consumer makes Asia an increasingly significant part of the global economy. However, significant threats to peace and security in the region can spell growing risk for foreign and local investors alike. This panel looks at current security issues that may impact economic growth in Asia.
Robert Ross is Professor in the Department of Political Science at Boston College. Professor Ross’s research focuses on Chinese foreign and defense policy, with an emphasis on China’s use of force and deterrence strategies, China’s security policy in East Asia, and U.S.-China relations. His current research project examines deterrence dynamics in East Asia and the implications of the rise of China for East Asian security and U.S.-China relations.. His major works include U.S. China Relations, 1955 1971: A Reexamination of Cold War Conflict and Cooperation, Engaging China: The Management of an Emerging Power, and Great Wall and Empty Fortress: China’s Search for Security. Robert S. Ross is also: Research Associate of the John King Fairbank Center for East Asian Research, Harvard University; Senior Advisor, Security Studies Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. His full biography is available here.
Chan Heng Chee took up her appointment as Singapore’s Ambassador to the United States in July 1996. Prior to her appointment, she was the Executive Director of the Singapore International Foundation (which creates a Singapore version of the Peace Corps) and Director of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. She was the founder Director of the Institute of Policy Studies. She served as Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 1989 to 1991 and was concurrently High Commissioner to Canada, and Ambassador to Mexico. She was educated at the University of Singapore and Cornell University. Her full biography is available here (external website).
Scot Marciel is Director of the State Department’s Office of Maritime Southeast Asia, responsible for relations with Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, East Timor and the Philippines He has extensive experience working in and on Southeast Asia, having served in the U.S. Embassies in the Philippines and Vietnam, as Director of the Department’s Office of Mainland Southeast Asia, and in the Department’s former Office of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodian Affairs. He was the first U.S. diplomat to serve in Hanoi after the Vietnam War, establishing the initial State Department Office in 1993 and then serving as Chief of the Political-Economic Section in the U.S. Embassy when it was established in 1995. Mr. Marciel also has served in Brazil, Hong Kong, and Turkey. His foreign languages are Vietnamese and Portuguese. Mr. Marciel is a graduate of the University of California and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.