China's Troubled Waters
Maritime Disputes in Theoretical Perspective

This book examines China's conduct in its maritime disputes in order to analyse Beijing's foreign policy intentions in general.

Steve Chan (Author)

9781107130562, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 26 February 2016

250 pages
23.5 x 15.7 x 2 cm, 0.5 kg

'Declining to treat China as sui generis, Chan argues in China's Troubled Waters that we can look to general theories of international relations, cross-national patterns of behaviour, and historical parallels to advance our understanding of the Chinese case.' Savannah Jones, SirReadaLot.org (www.sirreadalot.org)

How are China's ongoing sovereignty disputes in the East and South China Seas likely to evolve? Are relations across the Taiwan Strait poised to enter a new period of relaxation or tension? How are economic interdependence, domestic public opinion, and the deterrence role played by the US likely to affect China's relations with its counterparts in these disputes? Although territorial disputes have been the leading cause for interstate wars in the past, China has settled most of its land borders with its neighbours. Its maritime boundaries, however, have remained contentious. This book examines China's conduct in these maritime disputes in order to analyse Beijing's foreign policy intentions in general. Rather than studying Chinese motives in isolation, Steve Chan uses recent theoretical and empirical insights from international relations research to analyse China's management of its maritime disputes.

1. Embedding China's maritime disputes in general IR research
2. Territorial conflicts: mitigating and aggravating circumstances
3. Trust, reassurance, and credible commitment
4. Deterrence theories: bringing in the United States
5. Taiwan's two-level interactions with China
6. Multilateralism in the East and South China Sea disputes
7. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: International relations [JPS], Politics & government [JP], Black & Asian studies [JFSL3], Maritime history [HBTM]