China, the United States, and 21st-Century Sea Power: Defining a Maritime Security Partnership

China's rise on the world's oceans is attracting wide attention and may ultimately restructure the global balance of power during the course of the 21st century. Many books have described this phenomenon and the significant strategic implications that flow from Beijing's rapid maritime development. However, the subject of whether and how to potentially integrate a stronger China into a global maritime security partnership has not been adequately explored. Delving into a variety of vital domains of contemporary maritime security, American and Chinese contributors to this edited volume illustrate that despite recent turbulence in U.S.-China military relations, substantial shared interests should enable extensive maritime security cooperation, as the two maritime great powers attempt to reach an understanding of "competitive coexistence." China's reaction to the United States' new maritime strategy, for instance, will significantly impact its success. Based on the premise that preventing wars is as important as winning wars, this new U.S. strategy embodies a historic reassessment of the international system and how the United States can best pursue its interests in cooperation with other nations. But for professionals to structure cooperation effectively, they warn, Washington and Beijing must create sufficient political and institutional space.
This is the fourth book in the series "Studies in Chinese Maritime Development" published jointly by the China Maritime Studies Institute and the Naval Institute Press.