International security
The military buildup in Asia is real. But it risks obscuring an inconvenient fact for U.S. foreign policy: the contest for leadership in Asia is being waged in primarily economic terms. And this contrast so vividly rendered last week in Washington — the world’s second most sophisticated military alliance system on the one hand (behind only NATO), and no meaningful counterpart when it comes to advancing the economic aspects of our common foreign policy objectives — is precisely why Beijing has taken to economic tactics as a first resort. Of course China’s military tactics are in full evidence, too. But Beijing’s largest victories in its maritime disputes have been silent triumphs — mostly in the form of self-censoring on the part of countries in Southeast Asia.
The military buildup in Asia is real. But it risks obscuring an inconvenient fact for U.S. foreign policy: the contest for leadership in Asia is being waged in primarily economic terms. And this contrast so vividly rendered last week in Washington — the world’s second most sophisticated military alliance system on the one hand (behind only NATO), and no meaningful counterpart when it comes to advancing the economic aspects of our common foreign policy objectives — is precisely why Beijing has taken to economic tactics as a first resort. Of course China’s military tactics are in full evidence, too. But Beijing’s largest victories in its maritime disputes have been silent triumphs — mostly in the form of self-censoring on the part of countries in Southeast Asia.
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