21ST Century United States Military Strategy for East Asia: Countering an Emerging China

摘要

It appears China is or will emerge in the 21st century as an economic and military global power. The United States National Security Strategy (NSS) suggests that the U.S. has relied on a U.S. forward military presence in the East Asian region for over 50 years enabling it to achieve its NSS objectives. How might changes in the strategic environment influence the U.S. position for a forward military presence. These two countries appear to have fostered a relationship in the 20th century and early into the 21st century of mutual economic interdependence yet approach each other with great caution and potential military miscalculations. Changes in the strategic environment might suggest that the U.S. may endure domestic regional and international pressures to reduce the U.S. military forward presence in the East Asian region. These pressures could potentially arise from China's growing regional and global influence long-term East Asia regional stability a possible Korean peninsula reunification or U.S. domestic pressures as a result of U.S. military enhancements that provide smaller yet more lethal forces. History suggests that the U.S. could significantly risk its NSS by reducing its military forward presence in the East Asian region.