But China's proximity to many of our allies combined with an increase in power sufficient to threaten these allies makes China a concern to us. They truly are the Middle Kingdom for the Pacific Century.
But that power is causing neighbors to react.
And so now, as we push back we can support these new local powers in standing up to China:
It's called "leading from the middle" and is a concept that's catching on as the United States repositions America's military forces in the Pacific and Asia to meet the threats of the 21st century.
For years, the U.S. has been "leading from the front," a time-honored military principle, taking charge of alliances, coalitions and partnerships. That has spawned allegations, especially during the administration of President George W. Bush, that the U.S. was "unilateral" in its approach to security.
Today, the U.S. is seeking more often to lead from the middle, relinquishing the role of leader to an ally or partner and easing U.S. forces into supporting positions. Under this concept, American military leaders look for opportunities to get allies and friends to step up and take charge while the U.S. assumes a backup and reinforcing role.
While some might argue that leading from the middle represents a decline in prestige and power from leading from the front, I find it a good sign. Powers around the periphery of China hem China in and these powers need our help to bolster their defense rather than being reliant on our power for their defense.
Back when our allies were weak, we were the only power capable of fighting China effectively. (Well, after the Soviet Union fell, anyway.) Yet China's power was limited beyond its borders and at sea so it didn't matter too much if our allies were weaker.
Today, China is clearly capable of projecting power farther with better land, sea, and air power. But the neighbors are stronger and we retain unmatched military capabilities to bolster these local allies who are China's neighbors.
So while China may push out to sea in the opening rounds of a new war--a new capability--after that surge our side has the power to push China right back to the Asian mainland given the time to mobilize our collective power.
