Operationalizing Air-Sea Battle in the Pacific
Abstract
Opposing a great power is a means of asserting one's own power, and several countries aspire to be great powers regionally if not globally. One expression of power is the ability to deny access or disrupt operations, and many countries seek to strengthen their antiaccess/area-denial (A2/AD) capabilities as a means of asserting regional control and influence. Tilk.e the People's Republic of China (PRC) for example. An emerging superpower at the turn of the century, the PRC published a white paper titled "China's National Defense in 2000" in October of the same year. This document set the tone for the PRC's strategy of attaining great-power status, built upon a foundation of the "Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence," robust economic development, and military strength. Since 2000 the PRC's unprecedented economic growth and prosperity have allowed it to invest heavily in military modernization. Today the PRC's military forces are exponentially more capable than they were at the turn of the century. In its 2010 white paper on national defense, the PRC says that it "will never seek hegemony," that it ''opposes hegemony and power politics in any form," and that it "pursues a national defense policy which is defensive in nature." However, its recent territorial claims and aggressive actions in the South China Sea represent an expansionist view of "self' that threatens regional security. More importantly, to assert these claims, the PRC has built a robust, power-projecting A2/AD capability that could be brought to bear against the United States, its allies, and its partners. Largely due to the PRC's actions in recent years and current military capability, A2/AD has emerged as a national concern, especially when it threatens to deny the global commons or upset regional security. In June 2012, strategic guidance specifically tasked the US military to project power despite A2/AD.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2015
- Accession Number
- ADA622312
Entities
People
- Byron S. Hall
- Kevin J. Cole
- Mark C. Harysch
- William H. Ballard
Organizations
- Air University