Safety Net

I've been going on about how China's neighbors need America to be strong enough to count on should push come to shove with the Chinese. China's neighbors don't want to knuckle under to China. But unless we are a credible partner to these countries, they'll cut deals with China rather than get stomped by China in a losing fight.

This professor sums it up:

China’s military policies are not the product of a misunderstanding; they are part of a deliberate strategy that other nations must now find ways to meet. Strength deters aggression; weakness tempts it. Beijing will denounce such moves as provocative, but it is China’s actions that currently threaten to upset the stability of Asia.

Many of China’s neighbors are more willing than they were in the past to ignore Beijing’s complaints, increase their own defense spending and work more closely with one another and the United States.

They are unlikely, however, to do those things unless they are convinced that America remains committed. Washington does not have to shoulder the entire burden of preserving the Asian power balance, but it must lead.

It is more than just the hardware. These neighbors of China need to believe in our willingness as well as our capacity to intervene.