Routledge Contemporary China Series, 138. London; New York: Routledge, 2016. xviii, 158 pp. US$140.00, cloth. ISBN 978-0-415-70734-3.
Few areas of research in international policy studies pose more difficulties than China’s strategic thinking because of the political secrecy, irrational decision making, and unpredictable actions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which remains in control of the government, military, and media in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Jonathan Ping and Brett McCormick have edited a collection of essays and provide a new perspective to understanding Chinese strategy by moving their focus away from the usual policy analysis approach and instead examining the relatively neglected topics of Chinese strategic background, military culture, and international environment. Based at prestigious universities and governments in China, the United States, Australia, Mexico, and Europe, the contributors to this volume open up new debates by applying alternate frameworks to theories in strategic studies so that specific policies can be viewed as part of a general pattern that can be tested with greater interpretative power in order to determine the consistent inner logic behind CCP strategic thinking. Their new perspectives offer a better understanding of Chinese strategic issues and operational behaviours, and identify some general trends among Chinese leaders, who face varied international crises and make different choices according to their individual backgrounds and worldviews.
In the first chapter, Andrew Wilson revisits Chinese military classics and challenges “the conventional wisdom” on Chinese strategic culture, such as a defensive tradition and civilian control over the military. He points out that these myths, “reductionist and misleading,” give “dangerously simplistic explanations of Chinese strategic intent and strategic behavior” (8). Su Hao and Cui Yue employ a geopolitical approach in the second chapter and state that the Sanjiangyuan area in China’s west is “the center of gravity” and a strategic priority. Sanjiangyuan is “the origin of the three ‘Mother Rivers’ for the Chinese people: the Yellow River, the Yangtze River, and the Lancang River” (26). In their co-authored chapter, Eric Hyer, Zhang Qingmin, and Jordan Hamzawi examine the influence and impact of domestic politics and public opinion on China’s foreign policy making. Their study indicates that “[m]ultiple international and diverse domestic factors are competing to shape China’s foreign policy acting to both create and prioritize” (57). Gaye Christoffersen exposes a crisis management system among China, Japan, and the United States in China’s regional seas. The chapter identifies “different configurations for [a] crisis management mechanism,” which could escalate tensions in the area (74). Ulises Granados continues the discussion on China’s dispute with Japan over the Senkaku (Diaoyu in Chinese) Islands in the fifth chapter. With an emphasis on the US factor, the essay states that “Washington has the responsibility and the power […] to help de-securitize the Diaoyu/Senkaku issues and lower tensions” (92), which neither Japan nor China is willing or able to do. The next chapter, by Jonathan H. Ping, explains China’s relations with India from a historical perspective, and identifies “the China-India border dispute as a strategic priority for China” (108). In the seventh chapter, Timothy D. Hoyt argues that “the current environment offers new strategic opportunities as well as challenges” for both China and Pakistan (114). After the death of Osama bin Laden, “China’s relationship with Pakistan has been much less volatile than U.S.-Pakistani ties” (116). In the last chapter, Alica Kizekova considers China’s regional leadership role in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), including Russia and other countries in Central Asia. She concludes that the SCO serves Beijing’s goal “as a mechanism for enhancing regional security, in order to protect and advance China’s economic cooperation and investments in Central Asia” (142).
According to the book’s editors, the inter-disciplinary research represented in this volume reflects ten years of continuous collaborative endeavour and academic exchanges between the East Asia Security Center at Bond University, the University of New Haven, and the China Foreign Affairs University. Their endeavours move beyond existing scholarly boundaries, seek to spark new debates, and propose to find solutions while reflecting on China’s foreign relations. Crucial to this volume is its assessment of empirical data that places major events in the context of national security, the China-US relationship, and international politics. The book’s comprehensive coverage presents a broad spectrum of knowledge of the on-going debates surrounding Chinese strategic studies. While factors of insecurity and instability remain, China does not enjoy a favourable security environment, a reality it has faced since the founding of the PRC. This volume prepares us for any major and unexpected event for a fairly long period of time into the future. Furthermore, this work does not reject legitimate issues in China’s foreign policy implementation.
Like most other essay collections, however, the volume could not cover all of China’s strategic priorities, such as the issues of the South China Sea, Taiwan, Tibet, Vietnam, and the modernization of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). It did not have the opportunity to look into the CCP’s political culture, which is not only important but also necessary for an understanding China’s most complex and enigmatic strategic priorities. For the PRC, there are more opportunities and challenges, and more hopes and difficulties, ahead. Xi Jinping and his government (2012–2022) are seeking a growing role for China on the global political stage while assuring the international community that China is not pursuing a policy of military and political hegemony in a conventional sense. However, while China is repositioning itself by creating a new centre of gravity in the Asia-Pacific region, its demands will create potential problems. Possible sources of crisis are the highly sensitive and increasingly dangerous issues of the sovereignty of these disputed islands. This collection deserves a close reading, particularly in view of the current tensions in the South China Sea between the PLA and the US Navy.
Xiaobing Li
University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, USA
pp. 331-333