Posted on 04/10/2021 5:25:00 AM PDT by MtnClimber
The fishing vessels arrived one and two at a time, dropping anchor off the disputed Whitsun Reef near the Philippines. As the Chinese-flagged fleet grew larger, the vessels tethered themselves together, hunkering down for a gray zone standoff that has captured policymaker interest throughout the Pacific region.
And with that, Beijing burst Washington’s deterrence bubble.
In congressional testimony last month, officials advocated for new, multibillion-dollar investments in long-range strike capabilities and a sophisticated missile system in Guam. These new platforms, it was argued, are essential to reassuring our regional allies and deterring China.
And yet, the Whitsun spectacle lays bare that Washington’s continued embrace of a costly, conventional deterrence strategy is alone unlikely to prevent Beijing from achieving many of its security objectives.
What’s more, China is banking on America’s prioritization of traditional deterrence at the expense of a robust, and potentially more effective, asymmetric strategy.
No doubt, American military supremacy has deterred China from achieving many of its goals. Nevertheless, Beijing has continued its incremental march forward in Hong Kong, in the Taiwan Strait and at various overseas ports.
Washington’s predictable non-response to China’s gray zone activities in places like Whitsun does more than erode U.S. credibility. It increases the likelihood of a military confrontation by permitting China to solidify its gains while neutralizing our diplomatic and economic leverage. Thus, through a process of elimination, military force becomes the only viable option to resolving hardened disputes.
Building back better deterrence requires an entirely new approach. While the military should prepare for the possibility of a traditional conflict in the future, it must mobilize now for the asymmetric war that we are already fighting. At the center of that mobilization must be a clear-eyed view of America’s desired end states, which, contrary to the White Houses’ rhetoric, cannot be
(Excerpt) Read more at fdd.org ...
"C'mon man, they're not bad people."
Actually: “C’mon man, they’ve already paid me off!”
The Butchers of Beijing know that there’s nothing to stop them from seizing the South China Sea...attacking Taiwan...etc. for the next 3.5 years.
C’mon man, we can trust our new military with the purple headed trannies!
Sleepy Joe's advisors are not asleep. They know exactly what they are doing. And why they are doing it.
Try to understand what is really happening in the Philippines. The Chinese have essentially bought the Philippine timber, fishing and large sectors of their agricultural industries. They have also bought off and comprimised Philippine elites and politicians. Hence no real resistance to overt sovereignity claims in Philippine waters. The Philippines is being transformed into a Chinese colony. Soon Subic and what is left of Clark field will be operational Chinese bases.The US would have to retake political and military control of the Philippines if it wished to stop the Chinese. The American people cannot be expected to make a sacrifice in blood and treasure to reverse what the Filipino people have allowed to happen. America’s line of defense in the Pacific is much further east.
Just like in the last US election, half the people voted against Duterte.
Duterte (China) now owns the Congress and the Supreme Court. Just like Biden, China paid for Duterte’s election.
China is the world’s preeminent industrial power.
Its military might will soon be unmatchable.
The Japanese approach of shifting production out of China is the only way to restrain the Chinese tiger.
Corazon Aquino wanted us gone thirty years ago...actions have consequences.
Joe Biden is a Chinese puppet. Why should we be surprised that China is now being more open about its scheme for world domination?
GHWB was the original Chinese puppet.
.
One doesn’t necessarily disagree, but please elucidate.
If they are “only fishing vessels” then the Philippine Navy can arrest and sink a few of them, and it will only be a case of criminal trespass and a minor diplomatic incident.
Two can play the same game.
The defeat of the Spanish Armada was done with a swarm of smaller more maneuverable British ships...China studies real history...not the 1619 made up crap!
He looked the other way after Tiananmen Square.
The Philippines have always had strong guerilla movements. Against the Spanish, US and even the government in Manila. If China were to move into the Philippines I thing the Manila government would fall. China might find itself in an Afghanistan type situation. They want to be the leading world power they’d better be ready to bleed like we have.
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