Contemporary Chinese Studies Series. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2015. vii, 358 pp. (Maps.) US$95.00, cloth. ISBN 978-0-7748-2635-8.
In July 2016, a controversial judgment by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague came down overwhelmingly in favor of the boundary claims advanced by the Philippines, and ruled that China’s claims have no legal or historical basis. As a result, China openly rejected the international tribunal’s ruling, and reaffirmed that China would take all necessary efforts to protect its sovereignty in the South China Sea. In such a case, is it still possible for both parties to conclude any boundary agreements peacefully? Several issues need to be clarified. For example, how is one to evaluate China’s behavior in dealing with its boundary disputes? How do we explain the rationale behind China’s boundary settlement in the past decades?
At this critical time, The Pragmatic Dragon by Eric Hyer (associate professor of political science and the coordinator for Asian Studies at Brigham Young University) succeeds in contextualizing how China’s interconnections with other great powers (e.g., India and Russia) and its larger strategic goals influenced its strategic concerns regarding its boundary settlements. The main argument of the book is straightforward: as Hyer highlights, China’s strategic behaviour is “driven by larger strategic considerations that required compromise to achieve a settlement” (266).
This book is divided into twelve chapters. Based on case studies of China’s boundary settlements over the past decades, Hyer stresses the influences of the great powers (e.g., India and Russia) on China’s boundary settlements. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the strategic and historical context of China’s boundary disputes and settlements on the basis of “equality and mutual benefit” (82). The following pages (chapters 2–10) analyze China’s reactions to the boundary disputes with its neighbours in the Sino-Indian and Sino-Soviet/Russian dimensions, in which China’s boundary settlement with India and Russia will continue to be a key element in any future boundary change in China’s boundaries with other neighbours. In Chapters 11–12, Hyer turns to the contemporary boundary settlements with China’s Eurasian neighbours (i.e., Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan) and its Southeast Asian neighbours in the South China Sea. In his conclusion, Hyer addresses China’s historically sensitive territorial claims and boundary negotiations with several neighbours (e.g., India and Vietnam), which made little substantive progress, and involved resource-rich areas.
In the eyes of this reviewer, the most important contribution of the book lies in Hyer’s explanation of the three decisive factors promoting China’s strategic calculations in its boundary disputes and settlements. First, there is China’s reaction to the shift of the global balance of power. For example, the end of the Cold War and collapse of the Soviet Union compelled China to negotiate a new boundary treaty with Russia—the inheritor of the Soviet Union. Second, China has been prioritizing its overall security concerns. For instance, it “valued a stable boundary more than the return of territory that it considered China’s historically” (83). Third, China has been seeking long-term strategic allies, rather than drawing more stakeholders into the boundary disputes. Therefore, China shows flexibility in resolving its boundary disputes, “in order to realize more fundamental strategic and economic interests” (235).
However, this book shows less concern on three issues that may make China’s boundary settlements more complex and more difficult to resolve in the foreseeable future. First, it’s evident that the governments of China’s neighbours are still struggling with child soldiering on their borderlands with China, such as Myanmar, and Afghanistan. Second, thousands of private military/security contractors have been involved in the conflict-affected areas of China’s neighbours, especially India. This does not exclude the possibility that private military/security contractors may become involved in any potential disputes along the India-Sino boundary in the future. Third, if a wealth of untapped oil and gas reserves is discovered and explored along China’s borderlands, a boundary dispute similar with those in the South China Sea would probably occur.
To sum up, The Pragmatic Dragon significantly advances the reader’s knowledge of China’s reactions and counter-measures to its boundary disputes. Moreover, the case studies present an intriguing account of why and how China made compromises on its border disputes. It is a book worth reading for those with great curiosity and questions about China’s boundary settlements. This book may also interest political economists, historians, and general readers concerned with China’s response to the shift of the global balance of power.
Kai Chen
Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
pp. 333-335