Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Fifty to One: Why China Is Weaker Than it Looks Militarily in Maritime East Asia

Defense is dominant in maritime East Asia.

The East India Company's iron steamship, Nemesis, destroying Chinese war junks at the Second Battle of Chuenpi on Jan. 7, 1841. (Wikimedia Commons)
The East India Company's iron steamship, Nemesis, destroying Chinese war junks at the Second Battle of Chuenpi on Jan. 7, 1841. (Wikimedia Commons)
The East India Company's iron steamship, Nemesis, destroying Chinese war junks at the Second Battle of Chuenpi on Jan. 7, 1841. (Wikimedia Commons)

“[D]efense is dominant, at least within maritime East Asia, because precision-guided munitions enable even relatively weak countries to sink surface ships and shoot down aircraft near their homelands.... China’s neighbors can counter Chinese naval expansion asymmetrically, by launching precision-guided munitions from a variety of relatively cheap platforms.... According to a recent study, the average cost of an A2/AD [anti-access/area denial] capability is about one-fiftieth the cost of the power-projection capability that it could neutralize in war.”

“[D]efense is dominant, at least within maritime East Asia, because precision-guided munitions enable even relatively weak countries to sink surface ships and shoot down aircraft near their homelands…. China’s neighbors can counter Chinese naval expansion asymmetrically, by launching precision-guided munitions from a variety of relatively cheap platforms…. According to a recent study, the average cost of an A2/AD [anti-access/area denial] capability is about one-fiftieth the cost of the power-projection capability that it could neutralize in war.”

— Michael Beckley, in the fall 2017 issue of International Security

This also makes me wonder if focusing on naval platforms — aka a “350-ship Navy” — is wise.

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

More from Foreign Policy

An illustration shows the Statue of Liberty holding a torch with other hands alongside hers as she lifts the flame, also resembling laurel, into place on the edge of the United Nations laurel logo.
An illustration shows the Statue of Liberty holding a torch with other hands alongside hers as she lifts the flame, also resembling laurel, into place on the edge of the United Nations laurel logo.

A New Multilateralism

How the United States can rejuvenate the global institutions it created.

A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.
A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.

America Prepares for a Pacific War With China It Doesn’t Want

Embedded with U.S. forces in the Pacific, I saw the dilemmas of deterrence firsthand.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, seen in a suit and tie and in profile, walks outside the venue at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Behind him is a sculptural tree in a larger planter that appears to be leaning away from him.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, seen in a suit and tie and in profile, walks outside the venue at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Behind him is a sculptural tree in a larger planter that appears to be leaning away from him.

The Endless Frustration of Chinese Diplomacy

Beijing’s representatives are always scared they could be the next to vanish.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on June 22, 2022.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on June 22, 2022.

The End of America’s Middle East

The region’s four major countries have all forfeited Washington’s trust.