America's Maritime Power Self-Restriction in its Conflicts with China
Abstract
The US was unable to defeat China because it self-restricted its maritime power abilities and coalitions while engaging in a limited war against an enemy with unlimited aims. Americas "warm war" with the CCP and the PRC was marked by intermittent periods of ideological struggles, proxy wars, and full-on battles. The conflict was lost through Americas inability to follow Britain's maritime power success. Unlike the UK, the US did not fully embrace the land and diplomatic minor strategies laid out by Julian Corbett, nor did America form cohesive coalitions like their British predecessors. The costliest US fault, compared to the UKs merit, was the nations asymmetric aims and means compared to those of its adversary; Americas (undue) fear of escalation with the USSR precluded the US from defeating a PRC seeking unlimited aims with unlimited means. Some may argue that the US was not defeated by China since America met all but one of its stated objectives; however, this assumes the US objectives were aligned with its long term national security interests, which they were not.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 06, 2022
- Accession Number
- AD1178161
Entities
People
- Philip J. Granati
Organizations
- Naval War College