course correction: how to stop china’s maritime advance

Why is the US worried about China’s growing navy?

Apr 08, 2022 · Course Correction: How to Stop China's Maritime Advance Ely Ratner Foreign Affairs July/August 2017 The False Choices of War or Accommodation in the South China Sea

Which countries express concern over South China Sea tensions?

the United States could take, short of war, to address China's maritime challenge. First and foremost, would be maintaining a steady acquisition of naval vessels to counterbalance China's military buildup. There is near consensus among experts that maintaining a certain degree of ship-to-ship parity with the Peoples' Liberation

Why does the US continue to dominate China’s strategic thinking?

Course Correction How to Stop China's Maritime Advance Ely Ratner Trump and the Environment What His Plans Would Do Fred Krupp Paris Isn't Burning Why the Climate Agreement Will Survive Trump Brian Deese Don't Follow the Money The Problem With the War on Terrorist Financing Peter R. Neumann Keine Atombombe, Bitte Why Germany Should Not Go Nuclear

How to Stop China's Maritime Advance

Troublemaker: a Chinese ship harassing a U.S. one in the South China Sea, March 2009.

By Ely Ratner

Troublemaker: a Chinese ship harassing a U.S. one in the South China Sea, March 2009.

What is the second fallacy in the US-China policy debate?

T he second fallacy in the U.S.-China policy debate derives from the problem of linear extrapolation, which assumes that China’s rise and America’s decline will remain consistent and uninterrupted. This is highly unlikely.

Who said "If you meet steel, stop, then push"?

If you meet mush, then push.” [16] Evidence suggests that when Beijing meets steel, it backs down, despite overheated rhetoric and vague threats. However, when it meets mush, it keeps pushing.

What is the fourth fallacy?

A fourth fallacy paints policy choices as black or white, appeasement or war, ignoring the reality that there are about a million shades of gray in between, and that it is far more likely that this competition will be waged in this gray zone between peace and war over the next several decades.

Can China be deterred?

F inally and most critically, it is simply not true that China cannot be deterred and is, sooner or later, bound to dominate the region. The size and capability of the American military still deter outright military conflict between China and the United States and its treaty allies in the Asia-Pacific region. Everyone knows that, so the present situation is not the issue. The issue is the path to the future, and it is here that Beijing has chosen an asymmetrical approach to achieving its aims—specifically by working to develop “gray zone” operations. [10]