Featuring:
Gregory B. Poling
Director, Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Washington, DC

Capt. Martin A. Sebastian, RMN (Ret.)
Head, Centre for Maritime Security and Diplomacy
Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA), Kuala Lumpur

Hosted in partnership with the Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies (YCAPS)

Live Online Via Zoom

Monday, May 7, 2020
HONOLULU: 2:00 – 3:15 PM
US EAST COAST: 8:00 – 9:15 PM
US WEST COAST: 5:00 – 6:15 PM

Tuesday, May 8, 2020
TOKYO / SEOUL: 9 – 10:15 AM
MANILA / BEIJING / SINGAPORE: 8:00 – 9:15 AM
JAKARTA / HANOI / BANGKOK: 7:00 – 8:15 AM

Registration required: http://bit.ly/PFmaritime

Gregory B. Poling is director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative and a senior fellow with the Southeast Asia Program at CSIS. He oversees research on U.S. foreign policy in the Asia Pacific, with a particular focus on the maritime domain and the countries of Southeast Asia. His research interests include the South China Sea disputes, democratization in Southeast Asia, and Asian multilateralism. Mr. Poling’s writings have been featured in Foreign Affairs, the Wall Street Journal, Nikkei Asian Review, and Foreign Policy, among others. He is the author of The South China Sea in Focus: Clarifying the Limits of Maritime Dispute (CSIS, July 2013) and coauthor of multiple other works, including The Thickening Web of Asian Security Cooperation: Deepening Defense Ties Among U.S. Allies and Partners in the Indo-Pacific (RAND Corporation, 2019), Building a More Robust U.S.-Philippines Alliance (CSIS, August 2015), and A New Era in U.S.-Vietnam Relations: Deepening Ties Two Decades after Normalization (CSIS, June 2014). Mr. Poling received an M.A. in international affairs from American University and a B.A. in history and philosophy from St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

Capt. Martin A. Sebastian is Senior Fellow and Head of the Centre for Maritime Security and Diplomacy at MIMA. Previously, he completed three years of Secondment with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), United Nations Headquarters, New York. He served in the Office of Military Affairs (OMA) as a Strategic Planner in the Military Planning Service (MPS). During his tenure in the Royal Malaysian Navy, he held various Command and Staff appointments, including Commanding Officer KD Handalan/ Squadron Leader of the 1st Missile Squadron, Commanding Officer of KD Lekir of the 22nd Corvette Squadron, Commanding officer of KD Sri Selangor of the 12th Training Squadron, and Commanding Officer of offshore stations Lima and Mike in the Spratlys. Staff appointments include Assistant Chief of Staff (Warfare) at the Fleet Operations Command Headquarters Lumut, Directing Staff at the Malaysian Armed Forces Joint Warfare Centre (MAFJWC) and Desk Officer UNPKO in the Defence Operations Room, Malaysian Armed Forces Headquarters, Kuala Lumpur, among others. Capt. Sebastian holds an MBA from Charles Sturt University, Australia. His field of expertise on Maritime Security is in Regional Security Architectures, Conventional Operations, Law Enforcement, Security Sector Reforms, Maritime Terrorism, Security in the Maritime Industry and Maritime Search and Rescue.

In partnership with Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies (YCAPS), Pacific Forum’s MARITIME DISCUSSION SERIES, features military and civilian leaders, international security experts, and scholars discussing the most pressing maritime issues in the Indo-Pacific Region.

To support this series, or for more information, contact Audrey Happ: [email protected]