The US Navy and National Strategy in East Asia: An Outlook for the Next Twenty-Five Years
Abstract
This paper explores how the US Navy serves the national strategy in East Asia, and what the future may hold for the Navy continuing to do so for the next twenty-five years. The paper concentrates on the peacetime, political role of the Navy, and does not specifically address the Navy's wartime missions. The paper finds that the Navy serves the national strategy and the objectives it support very well. But as the world becomes multipolar and more interdependent, the military, that is the Navy, will have to be used in conjunction with nonmilitary policy instruments in order to continue to achieve given objectives. In this regard, the paper concludes that the future does not look promising. US policy coordination appears poorly managed within the government, with potentially destabilizing results. In a time of diminishing threats and budget deficits, the nation must be careful what naval forces are cut in the Pacific. Cuts taken for budgetary rather than strategic reasons may end up costing the nation more when it is required to reestablish stability and the balance of power. Keywords: East Asia, Geostrategy, Naval stability, Naval presence, Political uses of military force.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1990
- Accession Number
- ADA227288
Entities
People
- William P. Mcdonnell Jr.
Organizations
- Naval War College