![]() Manila-a treaty ally and key partner in maintaining security of the first island chain-has borne the brunt of Beijing’s territorial revisions in the region and appears already to be shaping its policy choices off fears of American abandonment. The omission: There is no explicit mention of the Philippines’ territorial integrity among them. Next week’s edition of TNSB will examine this particular redline in more detail. The inclusion: The author argues that our red lines should include any overt military attack, economic blockade, or cyber attack against Taiwan, its public infrastructure, or its institutions. The author’s list contains, in my view, one laudable inclusion and an important omission. 71) These red lines should be sharply operationalized to deter Beijing’s continued attempts to operate aggressively in the “grey zone” of conflictual behavior that has been its modus operandi for over a decade. Washington can and should leverage these national strengths to clearly signal a short list of demonstrably enforceable red lines to China. 38)ĭespite the growth in Chinese power projection capabilities and Anti-Access/Area Denial capabilities, the US retains the capacity to marshal the foundations of its national power: the expansive international coalition of liberal democracies, its sophisticated military capabilities and experienced servicemen and women, and, should we choose to return to it, the attractive power and moral force of America’s historical support for liberal democratic governance and human dignity. While the PRC has grown its capacities for material power projection and soft power at alarming rates under Xi’s leadership, it remains vulnerable in key areas including growing challenges to popular acceptance of the CCP’s legitimacy, structural challenges to continued economic growth, increased international backlash including decoupling efforts and growing suspicion of the Belt and Road Initiative, and internal fractures in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong. 21) Even the 2017 National Security Strategy and associated documents fail to operationalize what “strategic competition” looks like in terms that can be meaningfully applied across agencies. The US, by contrast, failed for far too long to even recognize the existence of a near-peer competitor and has since failed to develop and operationalize a coherent strategy to oppose Xi’s revisionist agenda. As a result, Xi Jinping has been able to effect uninterrupted long-term plans requiring meticulous planning and steady progress to improve its bargaining position vis-à-vis this United States. Several key (but non-exhaustive) takeaways:Ĭhina has been far more successful than the United States in developing a coherent and consistent whole-of-government strategic vision for competition. Rather than attempt to summarize the entire document here, I want to highlight a few important points and offer a brief case for why the average American (not just national security professionals and academics) should care. ![]() While any serious analyst of US National Security or Sino-American relations will carefully read the entire document, even casual observers of international relations should review the executive summary (pp. ![]() 7) in America’s failure to cobble together anything resembling a coherent grand strategy for China. ![]() Entitled “ The Longer Telegram: Toward a New American China Strategy ,” the 85-page document contrasts an alarmingly focused and successful Chinese effort to consolidate and concentrate national power towards advancing Beijing’s interests at the expense of Washington’s with a veritable “dereliction of national responsibility” (p. Last week, The Atlantic Council published a trenchant analysis, penned by an unnamed “former senior government official with deep expertise and experience dealing with China,” of Sino-American competition in the 21st century. While last week’s edition of The National Security Beat (TNSB) featured a survey of recent work on US national security, I am focusing this week on a single piece with the potential to shape America’s China policy for decades. ![]()
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