Strategy in Asia: The Past, Present, and Future of Regional Security

314 Pages·2.429 MB·English

by  Thomas G. Mahnken,Dan Blumenthal

Strategy in Asia

Strategy in Asia
The PasT, PresenT, and FuTure
oF regional securiTy
Edited by Thomas G. Mahnken and Dan Blumenthal
Stanford Security Studies
An Imprint of Stanford University Press
Stanford, California
Stanford University Press
Stanford, California
©2014 by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights
reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
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Printed in the United States of America on acid-free, archival-quality paper
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Strategy in Asia : the past, present, and future of regional security / edited by Thomas G.
Mahnken and Dan Blumenthal.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-8047-9149-6 (cloth : alk. paper) — isbn 978-0-8047-9274-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Asia—Strategic aspects. 2. National security—Asia. 3. Security, International—
Asia. 4. Strategic culture—Asia. 5. Asia—Military policy. I. Mahnken, Thomas G.,
editor of compilation. II. Blumenthal, Dan, editor of compilation.
ua830.S84 2014
355′.03355—dc23
2014010113
isbn 978-0-8047-9282-0 (electronic)
Typeset by Newgen in 10/14 Minion
conTenTs
List of Maps vii
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Acronyms xv
Introduction: Thinking About Strategy in Asia
Aaron L. Friedberg 1
1 Asia as a Warfighting Environment
Roy Kamphausen 11
2 The Cyclical Nature of Chinese Sea Power
Bruce Elleman 26
3 Chinese Maritime Geography
Toshi Yoshihara 43
4 Mahan and the South China Sea
James R. Holmes 61
5 The US Alliance Structure in Asia
Michael R. Auslin 73
6 Strategy and Culture
Colin S. Gray 92
7 The Chinese Way of War
Andrew R. Wilson 108
v
vi conTenTs
8 The Japanese Way of War
S. C. M. Paine 130
9 The Indian Way of War
Timothy D. Hoyt 147
10 Military Modernization in Asia
Richard A. Bitzinger 162
11 The Economic Context of Strategic Competition
Bradford A. Lee 185
12 Nuclear Deterrence in Northeast Asia
Michael S. Chase 205
13 Arms Races and Long-Term Competition
Thomas G. Mahnken 225
14 Irregular Warfare in Asia
Michael Evans 241
Conclusion: Toward a Research Agenda
Thomas G. Mahnken, Dan Blumenthal, and Michael Mazza 265
About the Contributors 275
Index 279
MaPs
1.1 Greater Asia 13
2.1 China in 1927 34
3.1 First and Second Island Chains 46
4.1 South China Sea 68
5.1 Senkaku Islands 79
7.1 Malacca Strait 117
vii

PreFace
this volume grew out of the recognition of two important facts. The first
involves the increasing strategic weight of the Asia-Pacific region, a trend that
warrants greater attention from scholars and policy makers alike. The second
is focused on the growing importance of the strategic realties of Asia, which
require viewing the entire continent under the multiple lenses of geography,
culture, history, politics, and economics. Many of the concepts introduced by
the advent of the field of strategic studies, including deterrence and arms race,
are similarly quite fruitful.
An understanding of strategic studies can heighten our comprehension of
Asia much as a deeper understanding of the region can enhance our knowl-
edge of strategy. Fundamentally, the field of strategic studies is concerned with
the relationship between politics and military force. On a basic level, however,
strategy is universal: it can be applied in any state or at any time because hu-
man nature remains essentially unchanged. Yet strategy is also contextual:
strategy is formulated and implemented in specific geographic, cultural, and
social environments.
As an academic enterprise, the field of strategic studies arose in the wake of
World War II and during the Cold War. The geopolitics of that period directly
and indirectly influenced thinking on deterrence, arms races, and military
balances. Although students of strategic studies consult Asian classics by Sun
Tzu, among others, the field largely springs from Western thinkers, includ-
ing Thucydides, Tacitus, Clausewitz, Jomini, Mahan, Corbett, Schelling, and
Brodie. This volume looks at whether, and to what extent, strategic studies
remain valid for Asia of the twenty-first century.
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