『Territorial Disputes in the South China Sea: Approaches of ASEAN, Vietnam, and the Philippines』（Nagoya Univercity Press、2022）
Tomotaka Shoji
（Head, Asia and Africa Division, Regional Studies Department, National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS)）

It is my great honor to receive the prestigious Masayoshi Ohira Memorial Prize. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the people of the Masayoshi Ohira Foundation and the members of the selection committee for spending their valuable time to consider my book.

This book deals with the South China Sea issue. This issue is currently the focus of the US-China confrontation, but it is primarily a territorial dispute among Southeast Asian countries, China, and Taiwan over the waters and maritime features in the South China Sea. Currently, the presence of Southeast Asia is obscured by the intensification of the US-China conflict, but in order to academically understand the historical background and origins of the problem, as well as countermeasures of Vietnam, my area of expertise, I put all my knowledge into writing this book. To what extent my aim has been achieved is largely left to the judgment of the readers, but I have succeeded in presenting a point of view by capturing and summarizing the history of the South China Sea issue. This issue continues to the present day and is becoming more and more complex, and there is no prospect of a resolution in sight. I felt it challenging to discuss an ongoing security issue academically, but I am proud of finally managing to do so. I obtained great support from various people to complete this book.

This book could not have been completed without the support of my wife, a university professor. In addition, I was able to deepen my consideration of the South China Sea issue receiving many valuable suggestions through discussions with colleagues of my institute and research colleagues in Japan and overseas.

Words cannot express my gratitude to Mr. Shingo Miki of Nagoya University Press. From the first time I contacted him via email, he showed interest in the theme of this book, and worked closely with me until the book was completed. He also frankly conveyed his comments to the author from time to time. Without the support of Mr. Miki, this book could not have been published. I sincerely thank him.

With this prize as a great encouragement, I will continue to devote myself to my research while deepening my expertise and broadening my scope of interests. Thank you very much.

Profile
Dr. Shoji graduated from the University of Tokyo and completed the post graduate course at Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo. Joined the National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS) in 2002 and has been in his current position since 2020. Specializes in security and international relations of Southeast Asia, Vietnam in particular. His recent publications include: “ASEAN Political-Security Community: Development of Multilateral Cooperative Frameworks and Further Challenges” (Security & Strategy, Vol. 2, No. 2); “China for Vietnam: Communist Party, Belt and Road Initiative, and the South China Sea” (Takenaka Harukata ed., Indo-Pacific Countries Facing China Aspiring to be a “Great Country”, Chikura Shobo).