Verbatim Mac
Download 357.18 Kb.
|
High Speed Rail Affirmative Politics Elections Link Turns UTNIF 2012
Relations UQ – yes warCurrent US and China actions could potentially be destabilizing.Eric Gomez, research associate for defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute, 6/16/2016, “U.S. POLICYMAKERS SHOULDN’T LEAVE CHINA WITH NOTHING TO LOSE”, Cato Institute, http://www.cato.org/blog/us-policymakers-shouldnt-leave-china-nothing-lose The United States is attempting to use its military to check Chinese military and political assertiveness in East Asia. Yet Beijing has not responded to American freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea (SCS), increased troop deployments to the region, and deepening political/military relations with former adversaries by changing course. Instead, China has reacted with its own form of military escalation. In response to Beijing’s intransigence, prominent U.S. policymakers, think tanks, and scholars advocate policies that impose higher costs on Chinese actions. This singular focus on cost imposition is dangerous because it ignores the “benefit” aspect of coercive strategies and places China in a corner. Cost imposition has utility, but it should not be the only leg for U.S. policy to stand on. Coercive strategies work by manipulating a target state’s cost/benefit calculation to prevent it from taking certain actions (deterrence) or force it to take certain actions (compellence) to the benefit of the coercing state. Advocates of greater cost imposition in the SCS want to deter aggressive Chinese actions by making the costs of such actions greater than the benefit that would accrue to Beijing. However, the high value that China places on the SCS implies a very high level of cost necessary for deterrence to be successful. Complicating the task of deterrence further is the fact that China has shown a willingness to escalate its military presence and bellicose rhetoric when confronted. This suggests that any increase in costs inflicted by the United States will be replied to in kind by China. Such a dynamic is ripe for dangerous escalation, which undermines a stated U.S. goal of “peace and stability” in East Asia. Download 357.18 Kb. Share with your friends:
|