Alex Clarke recalls teaching People's Liberation Army Navy and Republic of China Navy officers in the same class at King's before 2010. They sat on opposite sides of the aisle and managed their social arrangements to avoid difficulties with their governments. Separate restaurants in Chinatown were part of those arrangements, even as food could be exchanged between the groups. The recollection shows how personal contact and formal political separation coexisted in an international military classroom. Teaching officers from many countries also provided information and perspectives that one historian could not gather alone. Later reference to former students on both sides of the Russia-Ukraine war adds the personal consequences of such a career.
Notable Point · 45:42-49:56
Teaching officers from China and Taiwan together
A pre-2010 teaching recollection shows Chinese and Taiwanese naval officers sharing a classroom while maintaining arrangements required by their political circumstances.