September 04, 2014
The Challenge of Responding to Maritime Coercion
In this first working paper produced as part of CNAS’ Maritime Strategy Project, Dr. Patrick Cronin provides a framework for further thinking about both the need to impose costs on bad behavior and gray zone assertiveness in maritime Asia, and the set of strategies best able to accomplish behavioral change while preserving the overall peaceful character of the region.
After making the case for why cost imposition, or balancing, is a critical element of an overall portfolio along with engagement and binding, Dr. Cronin suggests a range of diplomatic, informational, military and economic measures that could raise the costs of assertive actions in Indo-Pacific waters, as well as some challenges and risks associated with these strategies. Overall, policymakers must be broad-minded in their thinking about how to preserve and adapt an inclusive, rules-based system of open access to the global commons. Future papers in this series will address other types and facets of cost-imposing strategies for the Indo-Pacific. Check back for frequent updates here.
More from CNAS
-
Trump's Tariff Threat vs. Modi's 'No Compromise' On Farmers
Tensions escalate in the U.S.-India relationship over President Trump's threat of additional tariffs on India for purchasing Russian oil. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has firm...
By Lisa Curtis
-
How Big Will China’s Nuclear Arsenal Get?
China’s nuclear expansion is already feeding an arms race—a contest that is accelerating partly because the finish line remains unknown....
By Jacob Stokes
-
'India-U.S. Ties Right Now Example Of How Not To Handle Situation': Lisa Curtis
While speaking to NDTV, Lisa Curtis, senior fellow and director at the Center for a New American Security says, "The India-U.S. ties right now are a textbook example of how no...
By Lisa Curtis
-
China Military Scholar Elsa Kania on the PLA’s Dramatic Modernisation
Today we speak with Elsa B. Kania, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, about China’s military modernisation. How good is the People’s Liberation A...
By Elsa B. Kania