![\"johnson_1-050814_jpg_600x638_q85\"](\"http:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/files\/2014\/10\/johnson_1-050814_jpg_600x638_q85.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nErik De Castro\/Reuters<\/p>\n
Filipino crew members gesturing at a Chinese Coast Guard vessel that tried to block their supply ship from approaching the decrepit BRP Sierra Madre, where Filipino Marines are stationed to guard the disputed Ayungin reef, Spratly Islands, South China Sea, March 2014<\/p>\n
In 1890, an undistinguished US Navy captain published a book that would influence generations of strategists. Alfred Thayer Mahan\u2019s The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660\u20131783 posited that great nations need potent, blue-water navies backed by far-flung naval bases to project power around the globe. His work was so influential that Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany pledged to learn it by heart as he sought to triumph over the dominant power of his day, Britain and its Royal Navy. When Mahan died nearly one hundred years ago, just after the outbreak of World War I, he was widely blamed for being the lead theorist for an arms race that led to the catastrophic conflict.<\/p>\n
It may be a little too pat, but it\u2019s probably no coincidence that Mahan is enjoying newfound fame in another rising power: China. Mahan\u2019s books have been widely reprinted in China, including one that features a fold-out map of the Pacific showing US naval facilities in the region. The lesson for China is plain\u2014at least in the Pacific region, it must emulate America\u2019s naval strength if it wants to become a great power.<\/p>\n
The popularity of Mahan\u2019s book is one of the fascinating threads in Geoff Dyer\u2019s The Contest of the Century. The title might sound a bit like a reality show, while the subtitle (The New Era of Competition with China\u2014and How America Can Win) has the tone of a self-help book for a fading superpower. But ignore these examples of editorial overreach; Dyer\u2019s book is stimulating, erudite, and deeply researched, perfectly timed to explain the unfolding conflicts in East Asia. He focuses on maritime affairs as a clue to China\u2019s intentions, which he bluntly states as: \u201cForget their bland rhetoric: China\u2019s leaders think very much in geopolitical terms and would like to gradually erode the bases of American power.\u201d Ian Johnson MAY 8, 2014 ISSUE The Contes … Continue reading
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