Strategic Forum. Number 273. January 2012. Sino-American Strategic Restraint in an Age of Vulnerability
Abstract
For all their power, both the United States and China are increasingly vulnerable. Each faces a range of strategic dangers, from nuclear weapons to disruption of critical computer networks and space links. Because their relationship is at once interdependent and potentially adversarial, the United States and China are especially vulnerable to each other: interdependence exposes each to the other, while the potential for conflict impels each to improve strategic capabilities against which defenses can be futile. Strategic vulnerability cannot be eliminated, only mitigated. Of the two countries, the United States is stronger in offensive strategic capabilities, notably in nuclear, antisatellite (ASAT), and cyber weapons. Yet it is also increasingly exposed to danger in these domains, confirming that power does not necessarily reduce vulnerability. If Americans thought before the 9/11 terrorist attacks that being the only superpower made them safer, they think otherwise now. Even with a $600-billion-plus annual defense budget, the United States cannot buy its way out of strategic vulnerability. Meanwhile, China s stunning economic and technological development is enabling it to acquire all forms of power, including offensive strategic capabilities. But China s development is also making it more vulnerable, as its economy becomes more integrated at home and with the world, more dependent on information, and thus more susceptible to disruption. While the Chinese have long felt, based on their history, that weakness breeds vulnerability, they are learning that greater vulnerability can also accompany greater strength. This Strategic Forum, derived from our book The Paradox of Power, confronts the fact that as power grows so does vulnerability.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA577518
Entities
People
- David Gompert
- Phillip C. Saunders
Organizations
- National Defense University