South China Sea NewsWire Advisory Board
Lucio Blanco Pitlo III is a foreign policy and security analyst specializing on Southeast Asian affairs, maritime security, connectivity and great power competition in the region.
Ray Powell is the Director of SeaLight, a maritime transparency initiative of the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation at Stanford University. He retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2021 after 35 years, including postings as the Air Attaché to Vietnam and Senior Defense Official/Defense Attaché to Australia.
Sumathy Permal is a Senior Researcher with the Centre for the Straits of Malacca at the Maritime Institute of Malaysia. Her current focus is on strategic and defense issues in the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca.
Professor Dr. Yann-huei Song obtained his LL.M. and J.S.D degrees from U.C. Berkeley, the United States and Ph.D. degree from Kent State University , Kent, Ohio, the United States. He was a research fellow at the Institute of European and American Studies, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan (1993-2021). His research areas include the international law of the sea and national ocean policy. He is now a board member of the Chinese Society of International Law (Taiwan) and the R.O.C. Association for Ocean Policy and Maritime Affairs. He had participated in the Indonesian-hosted Informal Workshop on Managing Potential Conflicts in the South China Sea and visited 7 times of the largest naturally-formed island — Taiping Island (Itu Aba) — of the Spratly archipelago.
Benjamin Blandin has been working as a consultant in strategy and innovation for 15 years in both industry and consulting firms. He holds an MA in strategy consulting from EM Lyon (France), an MA in Geopolitics from the French Institute of Geopolitics and graduated from the Paris Military Academy (maritime strategy program). Benjamin has earned a Ph.D. from the Paris Catholic University in geopolitics focusing on the phenomena of AZAD, hybrid warfare and grey area tactics in the South China Sea.
South China Sea NewsWire Staff
James Borton is a senior fellow at Johns Hopkins/SAIS Foreign Policy Institute and the author of Dispatches from the South China Sea: Navigating to Common Ground. He contributes opinions for The Washington Times, Asia Times, Asia Global Online, Geopolitical Monitor, East Asia Forum and the South China Morning Post. James is Editor-in-Chief of the South China Sea NewsWire.
David Hessen is a recent graduate from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), where he studied U.S. national security strategy and U.S.-Asian relations. He has previous work experience at several Washington, DC think tanks, non-profits, and government relations firms. David is the Managing Editor of the South China Sea NewsWire.
Caleb Mills is a Research Assistant at Purdue University studying International Relations. He interned at Vanderbilt’s Latin American Public Opinion Project, where he extensively studied Latin American political instability, specifically the phenomena of Autogolpes and democratic backsliding. In addition, he regularly contributes to both the Geopolitical Monitor and Political Animal Magazine. Caleb is a Research Associate at the South China Sea NewsWire.
Xinlin (Sherry) Chen is an undergraduate student pursuing a dual degree between Columbia University and Sciences Po Paris. Her current research focuses on U.S.-China relations and Southeast Asian affairs, with particular interests in political strategy, economic development, and regional diplomacy. Several Chinese institutions have invited her to contribute research papers on politics, economics, and education, each compensated at a professional rate. In addition, she writes regularly on her WeChat Public Account, which maintains a strong readership base and features sponsored content and business collaborations. Beyond research and writing, she actively participates in academic conferences at Columbia to learn from and connect with leading experts. With roots in China and academic experience in both Europe and the United States, she brings a cross-cultural and next-generation perspective as a Research Associate to the South China Sea NewsWire team.
South China Sea NewsWire Contributing Researchers
