We have China’s ‘anti-access’ challenge exactly backward
Stronger regional security depends on getting this right—then setting aside our wants for our needs.
PETER W. SINGER | NOVEMBER 29, 2023 02:27 PM ET
COMMENTARY THE CHINA INTELLIGENCE CHINA
When one looks across the span of the Pacific, one fundamental strategic truth stands out: the U.S. and every single one of our partners in the region—traditional allies such as Japan and Taiwan, off-and-on allies like the Philippines, new and would-be partners like Vietnam and Indonesia—are what are known as “status quo powers.” None are driven by expansionist ambitions; rather, each seeks simply to safeguard their territories.
Understanding this is crucial because it flips the way that U.S. defense analysts typically talk about the challenge of China. They constantly frame it around the problem of “anti-access, area denial,” or A2AD, capabilities that the growing Chinese military has built up over the last decade, where they are the ones with the cost-imposition advantage.
Yet, our core challenge is not actually how to pop that A2AD bubble; we do not actually want to seize and hold any territory currently held by the People’s Liberation Army. It is actually the inverse: how can we create our own robust anti-access aerial denial around our bases and allies, with our own cost advantages? This is the actual path to ensure that China is deterred from ever choosing the path of conflict.
https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2023/11/we-have-chinas-anti-access-challenge-exactly-backward/392346/?oref=d1-homepage-top-story
