Dr. Chris P.C. Chung
Department of Defence Studies
Contact
Email
Address: Canadian Forces College, 215 Yonge Blvd, Toronto ON M5M 3H9
Areas of Interest
- Maritime China, 18th Century to Present.
- The South China Sea Dispute.
- Maritime Security, including Hybrid Threats and Grey Zone Activities.
- Maritime International Law and Sovereignty.
- Late Imperial and Modern Chinese History.
- Global History.
- East and Southeast Asian Foreign Relations.
Educational and Professional Background
Dr. Chris Chung completed his doctorate in History at the University of Toronto in 2022, where he also worked as an adjunct Assistant Professor and Sessional Lecturer in Chinese and East Asian history from 2022-24. Prior to arriving at CFC in 2026, he provided policy insight on the latest developments in foreign affairs and global security at Global Affairs Canada, first as a China Research Fellow and then as a Senior Policy Analyst. Topics ranged widely from maritime sovereignty disputes, hybrid threats and grey zone activities, to diplomatic and trade relations between Canada, the US, and China more broadly, especially in the Indo-Pacific region.
Dr. Chung teaches in the Joint Command and Staff Programme (JCSP) in its residential and blended learning variants, specifically International Security and Canadian Foreign Policy, Command and Military Theory, and Factors in Canada’s National Security Policies.
Current Research and Projects
Dr. Chung specializes in maritime China with a focus on the South China Sea territorial dispute, past and present. Using the dispute as a case study, his research investigates how the global flow of ideas and activities of everyday people, such as fishers, merchants, and community organizations, vitally informed Chinese state conceptions of space and sovereignty in the maritime frontier since the late 18th century. It further considers how these historical legacies continue to powerfully shape China’s maritime claims-making, policymaking, and nation-building efforts in the South China Sea and other contested waters today.
His research at CFC will continue to focus on this history and its present-day significance for maritime security and policymaking. Future works, for instance, will examine how maritime infrastructure (e.g., lighthouses, meteorological stations, and fisheries) and ambivalent ideas of political belonging concerning fishers have informed, and continue to inform, how China pursues its maritime disputes.
Broadly, Dr. Chung’s academic works and activities seek to advance multi-disciplinary outreach, including with scholars, international lawyers, government staff, and military leadership. His journal article “Drawing the U-Shaped Line: China’s Claim in the South China Sea, 1946–1974,” published in Modern China, examines the historical formation of China’s current maritime boundary claim using approaches from history, international law, and political science. It has been widely cited in academia and beyond, including in arbitral tribunal proceedings on China’s maritime claims at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. He also regularly presents in panels and delivers invited talks in history, Asian studies, international law, and maritime security. Past venues include the Association for Asian Studies (AAS), the International Studies Association (ISA), and the US foreign policy think-tank Pacific Forum.
Likewise, his research as a historian continues to engage with various subjects, fields, and methods concerning Chinese, East Asian, maritime, and global history that extend beyond defence studies. He is particularly interested in the history of borders and frontiers, spatiality, discourse, empire, nation-building, and modernity. For a more comprehensive overview of his work, research interests, and publications, please refer to his personal website.
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