December 16, 2016
The Strategist Six
Now that China is overtly throwing its weight around, is it fair to say that Washington missed its window to negotiate meaningful compromise or concessions with Beijing?
China has been throwing its weight around for many centuries and will continue to do so in the future, especially if its leaders believe they can flout rules with impunity. Officials in Beijing naturally like to exploit opportunities, and in the past decade those opportunities have included the Global Financial Crisis, the incomplete and overly uni-dimensional US pivot to Asia, and the lack of unity among China’s neighbours.
No doubt opportunities were missed by many parties. But given enduring conflicts of interests and sharply divergent domestic politics, Washington and Beijing have managed well enough. A broad array of issues, from North Korea and cyber space to maritime tensions and climate change, have witnessed varying degrees of cooperation.
Read the full article at Real Clear Defense.
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