The WSJ headline went to the heart of the matter. Since May, there have been a series of competing naval maneuvers near the Korean peninsula and in the South China Sea which have highlighted the growing confrontation between Beijing’s ambitions and the security interests of the United States and other nations along the Pacific Rim. Capturing Taiwan would help China penetrate the “first island chain” that runs from Japan through Taiwan to the Philippines and then to Indonesia. Beijing thinks of the waters between the mainland and the island nations to the east as being Chinese territorial seas. The Pentagon report notes that the PRC is developing its own legal doctrine which is “inconsistent with international law” in regard to control of the trade routes and seabed resources of the region.
Another useful document which has not gotten the same attention as the publicly released Pentagon report is the study “China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress” by Ronald O’Rourke of the Congressional Research Service. Though written for use on Capitol Hill, the study has become available on the internet. The CRS report notes Chinese objectives beyond an “anti-access” strategy meant to isolate Taiwan from outside help in a war to conquer the island. “Some observers believe that China’s military modernization effort, including its naval modernization effort, is increasingly oriented toward pursuing additional goals, such as asserting or defending China’s claims in maritime territorial disputes, protecting China’s sea lines of communications, displacing U.S. influence in the Pacific, and asserting China’s status as a major world power.”
Blog Smith is inspired by the myth of Hephaestus in the creation of blacksmith-like, forged materials: ideas. This blog analyzes topics that interest me: IT, politics, technology, history, education, music, and the history of religions.