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Why Islands Still Matter in Asia (The enduring significance of the Pacific 'island chains')
The National Interest ^ | February 5, 2016 | Andrew S. Erickson, Joel Wuthnow

Posted on 07/26/2016 1:25:38 PM PDT by Sawdring

The Western Pacific “island chains” are a persistent feature of Asia’s maritime geography. While their underlying fundaments remain constant, their specific strategic importance has evolved over time. Different major powers have thus interpreted, then re-interpreted and re-evaluated, the value of particular islands, the role they play in national military strategy, and their operational significance in a warfighting context. Chinese naval strategists such as former naval commander Admiral Liu Huaqing have devoted considerable attention to the island chains since the mid-1980s, examining how and where the island chains can hinder or support China’s maritime goals. Yet Chinese strategists are hardly unique in their efforts—military theorists and planners from Germany, Japan and the United States have all pondered the geopolitics of the islands and archipelagos of the Western Pacific, during both peacetime and wartime. To understand the progression of Chinese views, and more recent debates among U.S., Japanese and Chinese strategists, we must trace this lineage of strategic ideas that stretches back more than a century.

Foreign Imperial Origins

(Excerpt) Read more at nationalinterest.org ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Japan
KEYWORDS: china; japan; southchinasea; us
Excellent article if anyone has the time to read it.
1 posted on 07/26/2016 1:25:39 PM PDT by Sawdring
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To: Sawdring

National Interest was founded by Irving Kristol so be aware anything published within is highly likely to be neo-Trotskyite war propaganda.


2 posted on 07/26/2016 1:40:11 PM PDT by thoughtomator ("... and if a million more agree, there ain't no Great Society")
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To: thoughtomator

Thanks for the info!


3 posted on 07/26/2016 2:02:21 PM PDT by Sawdring
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To: Sawdring


4 posted on 07/26/2016 2:02:25 PM PDT by Iron Munro (If Illegals voted Rebublican 50 Million Democrats Would Be Screaming "Build The Wall!")
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To: TigerLikesRooster

You might want to throw this on your ping list.


5 posted on 07/26/2016 2:17:46 PM PDT by Sawdring
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To: Iron Munro

He’s smarter than the average banana slug.


6 posted on 07/26/2016 2:34:05 PM PDT by beethovenfan (Islam is a cancer on civilization.)
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