Q & A: Bill Hayton on Growing Rivalries in the South China Sea

Dec 17, 2014 | Jane Perlez, The New York Times
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Bill Hayton, a longtime journalist with the BBC, has spent much of his career chronicling events in Southeast Asia and observing the growing rivalries in the region. His first book, “Vietnam: Rising Dragon” (Yale University Press, 2010), explored the authoritarian nature of the government and the human rights abuses that have accompanied the country’s economic rise. Mr. Hayton’s latest work, “The South China Sea: The Struggle for Power in Asia” (Yale University Press, 2014), addresses the history, politics and energy resources of the sea that in recent years has become central to China’s foreign policy. He considers China’s claims to most of the waterway, one of the world’s major trading routes, and the increasing friction with nearby countries, some of which have staked out their own claims in the sea but lack the naval power to stand up to China. These tensions were particularly evident in the spring when China sent a $1 billion oil rig to explore in waters off the Paracel Islands that are also claimed by Vietnam.