Event Details

The Lancaster Defence and Security Dialogue Roundtable, chaired by Lancaster University’s Pro Chancellor the Rt Hon. Alistair Burt, features leading experts and commentators in a discussion on ‘China’s Sea Power and UK Security’.

Lancaster Defence and Security Dialogue Round Table: ‘China’s Sea Power and UK Security’

The Storey, Meeting House Lane, Lancaster

Wednesday 26 November, 17.00-18.30

World-leading experts will gather in Lancaster to examine the expansion and global implications of China’s maritime power and its significance for UK security. The public roundtable discussion on ‘China’s Sea Power and UK Security’ will be held on November 26 at 5pm at The Storey in Meeting House Lane, Lancaster.

The event has been organised as part of this year’s Lancaster Defence and Security Dialogue, the University-based Centre for War and Diplomacy’s flagship think thank and consulting event that brings together academics, analysts, and policymakers to examine the UK’s defence and security.

In conversation with the event moderator, Lancaster University’s Pro-Chancellor, the Rt Hon Alistair Burt, a distinguished panel will explore the impact of China’s growing sea power on global maritime and trade systems and consider how the UK can and should respond – particularly through the development and deployment of its own maritime assets and naval capabilities. The discussion will also assess how other key global actors, such as the United States and India, are responding to Beijing’s rising sea power, and to what extent London can rely on them as partners.

Over recent decades, the People’s Republic of China has not only risen to become the world’s second-largest economy but has also dramatically expanded its global role.

Professor Marco Wyss, co-organiser of the LDSD and Professor of International History and Security at Lancaster University, emphasises: “A crucial, though often overlooked, dimension of this global reach lies in the maritime domain.

“China’s growing sea power is underpinned not only by the remarkable expansion of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLA Navy) – one of the most striking elements of Beijing’s military build-up – but also by the use of civilian maritime assets and an extensive network of port infrastructure developed through the Belt and Road Initiative - China’s global infrastructure and investment strategy to enhance trade, connectivity, and influence across Asia, Africa, and Europe.”

Moderator and Panel

The Rt Hon Alastair Burt (moderator) was Minister of State for the Middle East at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Minister of State at the Department for International Development from June 2017 to March 2019. Alistair served as Minister of State for Community and Social Care at the Department of Health from May 2015 until July 2016. Previously he served as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Foreign & Commonwealth Office from May 2010 until October 2013. He entered Parliament for the first time in 1983. He is the Lancaster University Pro-Chancellor.

Paul Mason (panellist) is a journalist and political consultant. He was economics editor at BBC Newsnight and Channel 4 News; he is a columnist for The New World Magazine where he writes on politics and geopolitics, and adjunct fellow in Defence and Resilience at the Council on Geostrategy, where he co-presents the podcast Defence Talks. He is the author of six books, including the bestseller Postcapitalism and most recently How to Stop Fascism. He was part of the team that authored Labour's defence industrial strategy.

Meia Nouwens (panellist) is Senior Fellow for Chinese Security and Defence Policy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Meia’s expertise lies in Chinese cross-service defence analysis, China’s defence industry and innovation, as well as China’s regional strategic affairs. She leads IISS research on China’s Digital Silk Road and was a co-lead of the China Security Project with the Mercator Institute for China Studies. Meia previously worked for the European External Action Service as a policy officer in Taipei, and as a trade analyst in the EU’s delegation to New Zealand.

Avinash Paliwal (panellist) PhD is Reader in International Relations at SOAS University of London. He specialises in the International Relations of South Asia. His latest book, India’s Near East: A New History (Hurst, 2024) has been shortlisted for the prestigious 2025 Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay Book Prize and was a Finalist in the 2025 Eastern Eye Arts, Culture, and Theatre Awards. His first book My Enemy’s Enemy: India in Afghanistan from the Soviet Invasion to the US Withdrawal (Hurst, 2017) has been translated into Pashto. In 2024-25, Avinash served as an ‘India and South Asia’ analyst at the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) as part of the British Academy’s Innovation Fellowship programme.

Alessio Patalano (panellist) is Professor of War & Strategy in East Asia at the Department of War Studies (DWS), and Co-Director of the Centre for Grand Strategy (CGS) at King’s College London (KCL). A specialist in maritime strategy and doctrine, Japanese military history and strategy, East Asian security, and European defence and foreign policy, he has taught at the UK Joint Command and Staff Services College (JSCSC) and held research positions at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the IRIS in Paris.

Cindy Yu (panellist) is a columnist and contributing editor at The Times and The Sunday Times. Previously, she was assistant editor (broadcast) at The Spectator magazine, where she also hosted the Chinese Whispers podcast, a series on Chinese politics, society and history.

Booking your place

To book a free place at this free event, please register on Eventbrite.

For further information, please contact Professor Marco Wyss: m.wyss@lancaster.ac.uk, or Amy Stanning: a.l.stanning@lancaster.ac.uk

For information on the work of the LDSD and its previous roundtables, please view the LDSD webpage on the Centre for War and Diplomacy website.