Title: China, the United States and 21st Century Sea Power: Defining a Maritime Security Partnership
Abstract: China, United States and 21st Century Sea Power: Defining a Maritime Security Partnership edited by Andrew S. Erickson, Lyle J. Goldstein, and Nan Li Newport, RI: Joint Publication of the China Maritime Studies Institute and Naval Institute Press, 2010 530 pages $47.95 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] At first glance, this collection of essays would appear to be based on a questionable premise, the People's Republic of China is interested in defining a maritime partnership with the United States to keep the peace in the western Pacific, the South China Sea, and the Indian Ocean. Repeated confrontations--verbal, at sea, and in the air--in recent years make seem unlikely. As the essays unfold, however, a more realistic assessment of China's naval capabilities and intentions appear over the horizon. In particular, contributions by a senior Chinese naval officer and several civilian scholars lead to the conclusion Sino-US naval relations are far more competitive than cooperative and will continue to be well into the future. These essays bear close reading because they faithfully reflect the thinking and policies of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) and the People's Liberation Army (PLA), which comprises all of China's armed forces. disclaimers a contribution is based on personal opinion can be ignored as can platitudes about mutual trust and peaceful development. Rear Admiral Yang Yi, Director of the Institute for Strategic Studies at the PLA's National Defense University, is forthright: One undeniable fact is China and the United States harbor strategic suspicions toward each other. Admiral Yang asserts the United States is bogged down in the Middle East and the US military is stretched so thin that has impaired the routine building of its defense capability. Conversely, he writes, China has enjoyed political stability, economic prosperity, and a Revolution in Military Affairs with Chinese characteristics. Moreover, he contends: The United States needs a threat like China to maintain its military hegemony, with China taking the role he says the Soviet Union played during the Cold War. Today, he maintains, only China can fulfill role. admiral argues China and the United States are making military preparations for worst-case scenarios in the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan, the self-governing island off the coast of China, is Chinese territory in the eyes of Beijing. United States says sovereignty is unsettled and must be decided peaceably by people on both sides of the strait. Until difference is resolved, Admiral Yang concludes, it is unrealistic for the PLA and the US military to engage in substantial military cooperation. A political scientist at Peking University, Yu Wanli, outlines the development of China's naval strategy over the past six decades from coastal defense and near-seas defense to the ambitions of some Chinese leaders to build a blue-water navy. …
Publication Year: 2012
Publication Date: 2012-03-22
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 1
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