Volume 4, Issue 1, Summer 2014
Infinity Journal
Page 4
The U.S. preoccupation with the war on terror in the Middle
East, Africa and Central Asia since 2001, along with the
financial collapse of 2007-08, has emboldened China to
act more assertively in the Asia-Pacific region. This led to the
administration’s announcement of the “Rebalance toward
the Asia-Pacific Region.”[i] The foreign policy announcement
is viewed negatively by China stating it would increase
tensions[ii] and has created a sense of unease by Asian
nations due to the perceived lack of commitment.[iii] In
response, there have been an abundance of possible
strategies and military concepts to deal with a more
assertive China. However, most are without the foundation of
a comprehensive national approach with a clear political
objective that drives necessary policies and the supporting
military strategies tied to the threat or use of force that can
achieve such policies.This article attempts to offer a concise
explanation of the political issue at hand,a possible long-term
policy that could achieve a reasonable political objective,
and various military concepts appropriately interwoven that
could support the proposed policy through the threat of
violence.
War, as Clausewitz defined it,
“is nothing but a duel on
a larger scale.”
Understanding the Duel
War, as Clausewitz defined it, “is nothing but a duel on a
larger scale. Countless duels go to make up war, but a
picture of it as a whole can be formed by imagining a pair
of wrestlers.”[iv] In this analogy, the pair of wrestlers engages
each other in a physical and mental duel because of “hostile
feelings and hostile intentions” created through iterative
interactions and competing interests.[v] In developing an
approach to overcoming an adversary,one must understand
the root cause of hostile feels or intentions between the
two wrestlers. In the case of the U.S. and China, to begin to
understand the strategic environment an examination of
both China’s and the U.S’s core national interests is in order.
While each interaction between the two actors is unique,
an examination of national interests that can be seen as
largely enduring across governments and strategic history,
and therefore can be considered “core”, can be illustrative
of overlapping areas of interest and/or areas of friction that
could lead to conflict. When looking across the strategic
history of China, some enduring interests could be argued to
be: upholding the stability created by the current system of
governance; maintaining national sovereignty and territorial
integrity; and sustaining economic and social development.
[vi] In comparison, some U.S. enduring national interests
are: providing security of the U.S. and its citizens abroad;
increasing the prosperity of the U.S; championing a respect
for universal values as a part of the international order; and
a peaceful and stable international order to ensure the
previous interests.[vii]
With these competing interests in mind, one could apply
Thucydides’ primary motivators of fear, honor, and interest to
determine similarities or differences. China’s motivators could
be seen as largely derived from fear and honor. They fear
encirclement and loss of territory,[viii] especially from threats
emanating from historical invasion routes from its western
and northern borders.[ix] Additionally, China fears it will not
Chad M. Pillai
Army Capabilities Integration Center (ARCIC)
Washington D.C.
Major Chad M. Pillai is an Army Strategist in the Army
Capabilities Integration Center (ARCIC). Major Pillai
recently served as a Special Assistant to the Commander,
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) from 2012-
13 and the 38th Army Chief of Staff from 2011-12. Major
Chad Pillai deployed to Iraq from 2006-07 in the cities of
Tal’Afar and Ar Ramadi during the Al Anbar Awakening.
Major Chad Pillai received his Masters in International
Public Policy from the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced
International Studies (SAIS) in 2009. He has published
articles in
Military Review
and
Small Wars Journal
. He has
blogged for
War on the Rocks
and contributes to
The
Bridge
.
To cite this Article:
Pillai, Chad M.,“Balanced Deterrence for the Asia-Pacific Region,”
Infinity Journal
, Volume 4, Issue 1, summer
2014, pages 4-8.
Balanced Deterrence for the Asia-Pacific Region
