NPR’s Sally Herships speaks with Prof. M. Taylor Fravel about the territorial dispute in the South China Sea. “Fravel notes that border disputes in the area have been going on for decades and this is China's way of trying to demonstrate its claim to the territory,” Herships reports.
Professor M. Taylor Fravel co-authors this Washington Post article looking at the frequency of Chinese Coast Guard patrols in the territorial waters off the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. Fravel and his co-author suggest that the decrease in patrols may signal a willingness by China to avoid escalation in a standoff with Japan over the islands.