Gordon Houlden | Navigating China's Maritime Positioning & Activities

<p><strong>Topics Discussed and Key Points:</strong></p><p>●      The maritime geography of China</p><p>●      What is UNCLOS and why does it matter?</p><p>●      The PRC’s long-term objectives in the South China Sea</p><p>●      Do China's actions in the South China Sea reflect their words</p><p>●      Why China cares about other regions such as the Arctic and the Antarctic</p><p>●      How the different players in the South China Sea dispute could potentially come to an agreement</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Episode Summary:</strong></p><p>Today on The Negotiation, we speak with Gordon Houlden, Director and Professor of Political Science at the China Institute, as well as an adjunct professor of business at the Alberta School of Business, at the University of Alberta.</p><p>Gordon starts the conversation by giving a brief history of China’s maritime geography and how the country’s Navy grew to exceed that of the United States, if not in a “qualitative” sense, at least in terms of hulls in the water.</p><p>He speaks on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the limitations of the international agreement, particularly when it comes to historical claims, which have contributed to the ongoing conflicts regarding overlapping claims in the South China Sea.</p><p>Asked whether China’s words and actions regarding the South China Sea align, Gordon offers the reminder that “this is a culture where they have built in a very strong emphasis in public pronouncements on the positive,” which means that there will always be a gap between ideology and practice.</p><p>However, when it comes to the South China Sea, “China has most of what it really needs. They’re in a dominant position.” However, China does not intend to enter into a maritime war. “They want to swallow what they’ve got,” says Gordon, “and not bite much more than they have already.”</p><p>Even after attending countless conferences on maritime relations in the Asia-Pacific region, Gordon believes that only time will tell