Alfred McCoy — China And The U.S. Are Spawning A New Great Power Naval Rivalry

The US, UK and France are the only countries with significant blue water naval capabilities and the US and Britain are sea powers (thalassocracies). China is a former sea power and is again reasserting itself on blue water rather than just in its littoral zone.

This is of utmost importance geostrategically owing to the transport of oil by sea. The powers that control the shipping routes control this militarily and industrially vital resources, as well as logistics in general. Logistics is the sine qua non of victory in war.

This controlling the sea means controlling the shipping lanes, which involves controlling the choke points, in particular, the straits. The important choke points are the Strait of Malacca, the Strait of Hormuz, the Danish Straits, the Bosporus, the Red Sea (Suez Canal and Bab el-Mandab), and the Panama Canal. The passage through South China Sea is also a chokepoint, with its many islands.

China is now arriving on the scene to challenge Western control of the sea.

I haven't yet seen anyone in the West voicing the real meaning of the consolidation of power in one person in China. This is a step toward administrative consolidation under the leadership of the CCP in preparation for war.

Both China and Russia are preparing for an attack from the US-led allies.

LobeLog
China And The U.S. Are Spawning A New Great Power Naval Rivalry

Alfred McCoy | Harrington professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

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