US-China Pacific Security Dilemma: From Engagement to Hedging
US-China Pacific Security Dilemma: From Engagement to Hedging

Author(s): Michal Kuzmič
Subject(s): Security and defense, Military policy
Published by: AMO – Asociace pro mezinárodní otázky
Keywords: Pacific Security; US and China relations; naval security dilemma; China; United States; military modernization; engagement; hedging; Air-Sea Battle Concept; Pacific strategy; naval buildup; superpower rivalry;
Summary/Abstract: In this paper I will focus on the military developments in the US and China in the last ten years, on how it is demonstrated in changing rhetoric of US leading figures, how it is connected to actions taken and what can we read out of the US military budget appropriations. And as the blue waters of Pacific and Indian Ocean are identified as the major playing field for China and the US, I concentrate mainly on China’s naval build-up and US reaction to it. The proposed hypothesis holds that over the last decade we witnessed a gradual arrival of naval security dilemma between China and the US. The security dilemma is defined as a process whereby increasing security of one state (China) leads to perception of decreasing security in another state (the US). The latter then strives to enhance its security vis-à-vis the former. This does not mean that conflict is likely, nor – as liberal theory would claim – that it is near to impossible.

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