About this episode

The episode discusses the risks of conflict in the South China Sea and China's maritime strategy with expert Greg Poling.

Ten years after an international tribunal found the vast majority of China’s claims in the South China Sea to be unlawful, the risk of conflict in this vital global throughway remains stubbornly high. This week on Pekingology, CSIS Senior Fellow Henrietta Levin is joined by Greg Poling, Director and Senior Fellow of the CSIS Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative and Southeast Asia Program, for a wide-ranging discussion on China’s strategy, successes, and failures in the South China Sea. They examine the evolving nature of China’s maritime claims, why Beijing cares so much about small rocks in the middle of the ocean, and why the South China Sea has become a major flashpoint in U.S.-China relations. To learn more about the South China Sea, you can read Greg’s book On Dangerous Ground: America’s Century in the South China Sea. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/on-dangerous-ground-9780197633984 

People in this episode

Host: Henrietta Levin

Guest: Greg Poling

Topics covered

• South China Sea
• China's maritime claims
• U.S.-China relations
• international tribunal
• conflict avoidance

Keywords

• South China Sea
• China
• U.S.-China relations
• maritime claims
• conflict

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Center for Strategic and International Studies

Books & works: On Dangerous Ground: America’s Century in the South China Sea

Places: South China Sea, China, United States

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