At a time when governments and policymakers throughout Asia are struggling to find common ground on territorial disputes and other contentious matters, think tanks are trying to tap into their unique roles to bridge the gaps.

Ruan Zongze, vice president of the China Institute of International Studies, said at a recent forum in Tokyo that the territorial and maritime disputes have intensified in the past two to three years and that the "challenge for us is how to manage those disputes."

Ruan was in Tokyo in late May to join fellow experts in the second Asia Think Tank Summit, organized by the Tokyo-based Asian Development Bank Institute and the University of Pennsylvania's Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program.