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
-
Reports
Defense / Indo-Pacific Security
U.S.-Japan-Philippines Trilateral CooperationExecutive Summary Growing challenges from the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s) massive military modernization, rapid technological advancement, and coercive military activ...
By Lisa Curtis & Ryan Claffey
-
How the War on Iran Threatens the Global Economy
Commentary
This article was originally published in TIME. Around two weeks into the American and Israeli war with Iran, the economic, political, and military costs of the conflict for th...
By Becca Wasser
-
Congressional Testimony
Defense / Middle East Security
Iran War Could Hinge On Who Runs Low On Munitions FirstIn just days of attacks, the US has used weapons stores that could take years to rebuild. On today’s Big Take podcast, Sarah Holder sits down with global defense editor Gerry ...
By Becca Wasser
-
Commentary
Defense / Middle East Security
Iran’s Cheap, Plentiful Weaponry Puts U.S. Military Under Unprecedented StrainThis article was originally published in Bloomberg. When the first cruise missiles began detonating inside Iran, the strikes had all the hallmarks of previous successful U.S. ...
By Becca Wasser
