The Rare Earth Collision: A Hit and Run on the Third Offset Strategy
Abstract
Chinas response to the U.Ss easy defeat of Iraq in the 1991 Gull War was to close the military technology gap that existed between China and U.S. To accomplish this goal, China achieved a worldwide near-monopoly of Rare Earth Elements (REE) mining and used this near-monopoly to coerce companies to move the manufacturing that required REE to China, which allowed China to procure the intellectual property of the manufactured item. Since REE are used in almost all high-tech equipment. China has closed the technology gap and has nearly achieved Second Offset parity. REE will play an even greater role in future technological advancements. To combat Chinas and other nations near military parity, the U.S. has announced the Third Offset Strategy to create technological equipment that will give the U.S. a multi-decade military advantage. This thesis shows, that for the United States to successfully achieve the game-changing goals of the new Third Offset Strategy. it must create a comprehensive strategy that incorporates the Diplomatic, Information, Military, and Economic aspects of national power (DIME) to mitigate the effects Chinas ability to acquire the intellectual property behind the cutting-edge technologies required by the Third Offset Strategy.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 29, 2017
- Accession Number
- AD1032144
Entities
People
- Daniel P. Ellinger