A More Assertive US ‘Gray Zone’ Strategy
Leaders want Russia and China to respond to U.S. initiative, not the other way around.
By Steven Stashwick
May 02, 2019
The U.S. Navy wants to act more assertively in low-levels of competition with China and Russia, forcing them to respond to U.S. activity rather than the other way around.
Speaking to the New America Foundation, Admiral John Richardson, the U.S. chief of naval operations, said that in the lower spectrum of competition with major powers like China and Russia, “in the ideal world we would want our competitors to respond to our moves instead of us responding to them… We would want to make many of the first moves on our own.â€
The United States has been challenged by Chinese and Russian activities that attempt to change the status quo but remain below the threshold of traditional armed conflict by using harassment and coercion tactics — the so-called “gray zone†of competition.
https://thediplomat.com/2019/05/a-more-assertive-us-gray-zone-strategy/