THE territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas can only be managed and not resolved, participants of the Eighth East Asia Security Outlook Seminar heard on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Defence (MinDef) in a statement said experts at the seminar agreed the disputes cannot be resolved as maritime territorial conflicts are intimately tied to history and sovereignty.

In addition, the participants heard an account of the threat of terrorism and its trends, particularly relating to the self-proclaimed ISIS and al-Qaeda.

… This year’s panel of speakers included academics from ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute; S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies; New Zealand’s University of Canterbury; Asan Institute for Policy Studies; as well as former practitioners.