Ripples of Change in Chinese Foreign Policy? Evidence from Recent Approaches to Nontraditional Waterborne Security

erickson and strange • ripples of change in chinese foreign policy?A lthough debate persists over the precise extent to which the foreign policy of the People's Republic of China (PRC) has actually changed in recent years, it is clearly evolving. 1Outside of the "near seas, " where China is largely perceived as increasingly assertive in its pursuit of core national interests, are Chinese foreign policy approaches becoming more flexible? 2Some related discussions focus on the PRC's voting behavior on UN resolutions involving humanitarian intervention as well as its contributions to international security. 3Its actions in waters abroad have also generated high levels of domestic and international interest, given their connection to Chinese politics, economics, military development, and diplomacy.Yet there is relatively little systematic analysis of whether Chinese foreign policy behavior is becoming more flexible with respect to nontraditional security challenges in the aquatic domain. 4 This makes it difficult to address questions about how Beijing's behavior here is related to broader Chinese foreign policy trajectories.Specifically, are Chinese approaches to nontraditional waterborne security indicative of a larger shift in the country's foreign policy toward greater flexibility and idiosyncratic dynamism?This article offers two case studies on Chinese participation in nontraditional waterborne security since 2008: the Gulf of Aden and the 1 For notable contributions to this debate, see Alastair Iain Johnston, "How New and Assertive Is