Red Star Over The Pacific Second Edition

Original publication and copyright date: 2010.

"This is an assessment of how the rise of Chinese seapower will affect U.S. maritimes strategy in Asia."--

Combining a close knowledge of Asia and an ability to tap Chinese-language sources with naval combat experience and expertise in sea-power theory, the authors assess how the rise of Chinese sea power will affect U.S. maritime strategy in Asia. They argue that China has laid the groundwork for a sustained challenge to American primacy in maritime Asia, and to defend this hypothesis they look back to Alfred Thayer Mahan’s sea-power theories, now popular with the Chinese. The book considers how strategic thought about the sea shapes Beijing’s deliberations and compares China’s geostrategic predicament to that of the Kaiser’s Germany a century ago. It examines the Chinese navy’s operational concepts, tactics, and capabilities and appraises China’s missile force. The authors conclude that China now presents a challenge to America’s strategic position of such magnitude that Washington must compete in earnest.

Xi Jinping has made his ambitions for the People's Liberation Army (PLA) perfectly clear, there is no mystery what he wants, first, that China should become a "great maritime power" and secondly, that the PLA "become a world-class armed force by 2050." He wants this latter objective to be largely completed by 2035. China as a Twenty-First-Century Naval Power focuses on China's navy and how it is being transformed to satisfy the "world class" goal. Beginning with an exploration of why China is seeking to become such a major maritime power, author Michael McDevitt first explores the strategic rationale behind Xi's two objectives. China's reliance on foreign trade and overseas interests such as China's Belt and Road strategy. In turn this has created concerns within the senior levels of China's military about the vulnerability of its overseas interests and maritime life-lines. is a major theme. McDevitt dubs this China's "sea lane anxiety" and traces how this has required the PLA Navy to evolve from a "near seas"-focused navy to one that has global reach; a "blue water navy." He details how quickly this transformation has taken place, thanks to a patient step-by-step approach and abundant funding. The more than 10 years of anti-piracy patrols in the far reaches of the Indian Ocean has acted as a learning curve accelerator to "blue water" status. McDevitt then explores the PLA Navy's role in the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. He provides a detailed assessment of what the PLAN will be expected to do if Beijing chooses to attack Taiwan potentially triggering combat with America's "first responders" in East Asia, especially the U.S. Seventh Fleet and U.S. Fifth Air Force. He conducts a close exploration of how the PLA Navy fits into China's campaign plan aimed at keeping reinforcing U.S. forces at arm's length (what the Pentagon calls anti-access and area denial [A2/AD]) if war has broken out over Taiwan, or because of attacks on U.S. allies and friends that live in the shadow of China. McDevitt does not know how Xi defines "world class" but the evidence from the past 15 years of building a blue water force has already made the PLA Navy the second largest globally capable navy in the world. This book concludes with a forecast of what Xi's vision of a "world-class navy" might look like in the next fifteen years when the 2035 deadline is reached.

Surprisingly little known, the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-20 was to change the course of twentieth-century history. In White Eagle, Red Star, Norman Davies gives a full account of the War, with its dramatic climax in August 1920 when the Red Army - sure of victory and pledged to carry the Revolution across Europe to 'water our horses on the Rhine' - was crushed by a devastating Polish attack. Since known as the 'miracle on the Vistula', it remains one of the most decisive battles of the Western world. Drawing on both Polish and Russian sources, Norman Davies illustrates the narrative with documentary material which hitherto has not been readily available and shows how the War was far more an 'episode' in East European affairs, but largely determined the course of European history for the next twenty years or more.

China's enormous size, vast population, abundant natural resources, robust economy, and modern military demonstrate that the nation has emerged as a great world power. Inside China's Grand Strategy: The Perspective from the People's Republic analyzes China's economic, social, political, and military development, assessing the extent of China's dominance. Highly regarded Chinese scholar Ye Zicheng offers a rare insider's perspective on the country's geopolitical ambitions and strategic thinking. Inside China's Grand Strategy argues that China's primary obstacle to achieving enduring status as a world power is its domestic state of affairs. Ye examines the impact of unemployment, corruption, massive economic gaps between classes, population size, strains on natural and labor resources, environmental degradation, and other issues that impede China's continuing development. Some analysts claim that repressive domestic policies threaten the country's goal of modernization, but Ye points to China's recent inclusion in the G-20 as an indicator of future success. Ye contends that China's progress hinges on many factors: peaceful development, extensive governmental reform with a system of checks and balances, social and economic development on the mainland, and strategies for reunification, especially with Taiwan. Ye asserts that military pressure may be required to integrate Taiwanese separatist forces but advises that development should remain China's primary goal, because it will eventually lead to unification. Although Ye argues that democracy is the only way to repair the corrupt systems that perpetuate economic inequality, he specifies that a Western-style democracy is not what China needs. As the United States' destiny is increasingly bound to China's growth and American policies are being evaluated in the realm of geopolitics, it is important to gauge and understand China's ambitions. An authoritative and up-to-date analysis from within Chinese society, Inside China's Grand Strategy is an indispensible resources for Western scholars, offering a new window on Chinese development.

America's foremost chronicler of contemporary China brilliantly illuminates the new power structure, economic initiatives, and cultural changes that have transformed China since the Tianamen Square massacre of 1989. "A rich portrait, capturing a fascinating and perhaps fateful moment in China's long, turbulent history".--Arnold R. Isaacs, San Francisco Chronicle.

"Out in the Pacific Ocean, there is a war taking place. It is a 'warm war,' a shoving match between the United States, since WWII the uncontested ruler of the seas, and China, which now possesses the world's largest navy. The Chinese regard the Pacific, and especially the South China Sea, as their ocean, and they're ready to defend it. Each day the heat between the two countries increases as the Chinese try to claim the South China Sea for their own, and the United States insists on asserting freedom of navigation"