Lucio Blanco Pitlo III is a Research Fellow with the Asia-Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation and a member of the Board of Directors of the Philippine Association for Chinese Studies. He was a lecturer on Chinese Studies at the Ateneo de Manila University and on International Studies at the De La Salle University (Manila). He obtained his Master of Laws from Peking University. He worked as a consultant on maritime and foreign policy issues. His commentaries and analyses on maritime and Southeast Asian affairs appear in the Asia Times, China-US Focus, South China Morning Post and The Diplomat, among others.