May 19, 2017
Geography and the Coming US-China War at Sea
Soon, steel-hulled ships will clash in battle. Missiles belching fire will rise quickly from launch tubes, rapidly gathering speed and maneuverability before slamming into enemy vessels at supersonic speeds. Sailors will die, ships will sink, and nations will either rise or fall. Although the time of the battle remains hidden, the site of the battles are known all too well.
Geography is determinate in military plans, a fact that planners understand at all levels, from tactical to strategic. While tailored combat elements may traverse difficult environments on land and at sea, heavily laden logistics craft that follow and enable them can rarely do the same. This is what pushes armies and fleets toward certain immutable routes, resulting in battles occurring at the same locations, over and over, throughout recorded history. Much as the ridge at Megiddo, better known as “Armageddon,” played witness to strife no less than 13 times since the 15th century BCE because it stood astride the route from Mesopotamia to Egypt, key maritime straits such as the waters of the South China Sea and the Sunda and Malaccan Straits will provide the backdrop for future naval battles. Geography and geopolitics are intermeshed and unavoidable. Unfortunately for China, they sit upon the wrong side of the former and are rather poor at the latter. Western advantages in both must not be squandered.
Read the full article on The Diplomat.
More from CNAS
-
Safe and Effective
Executive Summary With each passing year, the promise of artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomy to change the character of war inches closer to reality. This technology wil...
By Josh Wallin
-
Sharper: Military Artificial Intelligence
Since the atomic bomb, no technology has the potential to be as disruptive to warfare as artificial intelligence (AI). AI could deliver instant targeting solutions, develop hi...
By Charles Horn
-
America’s Eroding Airpower
To have a chance at success, the United States would need more low-end drones and missiles that can provide it with mass....
By Stacie Pettyjohn
-
Maritime Domain Lessons from Russia-Ukraine | Conflict in Focus
In this week's Conflict in Focus episode, Dr. Stacie Pettyjohn, senior fellow and director of the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security, discusses the key ...
By Stacie Pettyjohn