But Why Do We Have To Be There?
By Anthony Cowden
July 12, 2022U.S. Navy photo by MC2 Haydn N. Smith
In a recent article my former colleague, Dr. James Holmes of the U.S. Naval War College, argued that in order to ensure freedom of the seas in the South China Sea, as defined by the Law of the Sea, for all users of that Sea, the U.S. Navy has to be there – and in force.
First of all, a big thank you to Dr. Holmes for referencing Admiral Wylie and his great book[ii], a book that has been little known to graduates of the U.S. Naval War College (although I believe that is starting to change, likely in great part to Dr. Holmes’s efforts).
I agree with a belief inherent in Dr. Holmes’s article, that there is simply no other naval power on earth that can accomplish this mission. But why should it be a mission of the U.S. Navy to ensure free use of the seas under the Law of the Sea Treaty?
As Peter Zeihan has argued, it is a commitment by the United States and its Navy to the free use of the seas by all that made Globalization possible. Since the end of World War II, the U.S. Navy has provided for secure sea lanes to be used by all countries in the world. This commitment, in conjunction with establishment of the Bretton Woods System that provided the financial resources[iii], allowed emerging countries to access the markets of larger economies, and larger industrialized economies to see out raw materials and cheaper production costs around the world.
https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2022/07/12/but_why_do_we_have_to_be_there_842001.html
