Since World War II, the United States has maintained a forward maritime presence and, with its allies, secured free navigation around the world. However, China’s growing maritime power has raised new questions concerning U.S. objectives for its maritime dominance and how U.S. and Chinese maritime strategies will interact in East Asia.

At the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center and the Institute for Asia Pacific Studies’s conference on East Asia Maritime Issues, the second panel focused on the United States’ maritime strategy and how it interacts with China’s maritime strategy. Admiral Eric McVadon of the U.S. Navy, Admiral Yang Yi of the PLA Navy, and other American, Chinese, South Korean, and Japanese experts discussed these issues. Carnegie-Tsinghua’s Chen Qi moderated the discussion.

The United States’ Maritime Strategy

The 2007 United States Maritime Strategy announced an integrated strategy for deterrence, sea control, power projection, maritime security, and humanitarian assistance, but questions arose among the panelists concerning the true objectives and targets of the strategy.

  • Objectives: American participants emphasized that the United States pursues a global strategy to ensure open sea lanes around the world. Some Chinese scholars stated that Beijing worried the true objective of the U.S. strategy is to maintain absolute naval superiority in the region. American participant Abraham Denmark of the Center for a New American Security stated that the United States is concerned that China seeks to become the dominant maritime power in East Asia and thus intends to preserve a forward maritime presence in East Asia and around the world to ensure it can preserve freedom of navigation.
     
  • China: Admiral McVadon stated that the U.S. strategy should encourage engagement and partnership with China, but that Washington should also hedge against China having a different vision by honing its military capabilities. Admiral Yang stated that the United States has been a “responsible big power,” but that China was concerned that the United States’ air-sea battle concept was focused on a potential conflict with China, which undermined the potential for military cooperation between the countries. Denmark asked what more the United States could do to reassure China of its benign intentions, and Admiral Yang responded that although U.S. leaders do not say China is a threat, China sees evidence in U.S. Quadrennial Defense Reviews and official government documents.

Potential Conflicts 

The participants discussed areas where U.S. regional maritime strategy could interact with Chinese policies and interests in a way that could create tension between the countries.

  • Freedom of Navigation: The United States flies reconnaissance missions over what it considers international waters, which means it carries out exercises and information gathering activities in China’s exclusive economic zones. China objects to these activities. The United States sees China’s objections as an attempt to limit freedom of navigation, while China argues these activities are not included in freedom of navigation and demonstrate lack of respect for or mistrust of China.
     
  • Taiwan: National policies toward China create serious tensions in the Sino-U.S. bilateral relationship. One serious issue is the U.S. decision to sell arms to Taiwan. U.S. participant Tom Christensen stated that arms sales were solely intended to prevent China from coercing Taiwan back into the fold, which China says it does not want to do. Other American participants stated that if the United States refused to make sales, it would strengthen nationalist voices in Taiwan and destabilize cross-Strait relations. Admiral Yang stated that U.S. arms sales to Taiwan lead to increased budgets for modernization of the Chinese navy and that the time has come for the U.S. to adopt a “new perspective” on the issue.
     
  • Dominant Regional Power Issues: The United States seeks to prevent China from becoming a dominant regional maritime power that can deny other countries access to what the United States considers international waters. The U.S. policy arouses concerns in China over why the United States wants to maintain a military advantage in the region. South Korean participant Suk-joon Yoon of the ROK Naval War College asked what China would do, were it the dominant regional power, to avoid confrontation when North Korea acts threateningly towards South Korea.

Potential for Cooperation

  • Pursuit of Common Interests: No nation can respond to emerging international threats alone, so cooperation among states with similar interests is essential. The United States and China have common interests in promoting secure maritime commerce, combating piracy, and providing humanitarian assistance. China’s participation in combating piracy in the Gulf of Aden and intermittent cooperation on North Korea illustrates that the two countries can cooperate effectively when there is a political will. Such cooperation builds confidence between China and the United States, concluded someone.
     
  • Multilateral Cooperation: On some issues, multilateral cooperation will be important. Admiral McVaden proposed reviving the idea of a Global Maritime Partnership consisting of an international mixture of ships and other forces to provide security to which almost every country could contribute according to its policies and capabilities.
     
  • Threats to Cooperation: In the past, China has broken off cooperation or dialogue with the United States in response to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. Chinese scholars also brought up provisions in the U.S. National Defense Appropriations Act that restrict military-to-military cooperation with China. Doubts on each side about the intentions of the other in the region undermine cooperation, the panelists agreed. Admiral McVaden stated that mistrust should be an additional reason for cooperating, not an impediment.