{"id":65376,"date":"2021-06-30T06:00:55","date_gmt":"2021-06-29T20:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=65376"},"modified":"2021-06-29T15:02:26","modified_gmt":"2021-06-29T05:02:26","slug":"how-the-us-and-australia-can-be-real-partners-in-the-indo-pacific-grey-zone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/how-the-us-and-australia-can-be-real-partners-in-the-indo-pacific-grey-zone\/","title":{"rendered":"How the US and Australia can be real partners in the Indo-Pacific grey zone"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The United States rightly considers itself a \u2018Pacific nation\u2019. It has been engaged there almost since its founding\u2014and the US west coast stretches to Guam.<\/p>\n

Today, the US is indispensable to the region\u2019s security. Remove it and see what happens. No single nation or combination of nations can withstand domination by the People\u2019s Republic of China. The American presence also keeps certain other nations from going for each other\u2019s throats.<\/p>\n

But the US is dangerously overstretched militarily and, in locations such as the South China Sea, it\u2019s overmatched.<\/p>\n

Some sobering data: the People\u2019s Liberation Army Navy has about 350 ships, though it\u2019s 700-plus if you include China\u2019s coast guard and maritime militia, which PLA planners undoubtedly do. The US Navy has just under 300 ships to cover the entire globe. And the PRC is launching four ships for each the US Navy builds. Play this out over a decade (or less) and, unless something changes, the PLA will be operating in force well beyond the so-called first island chain.<\/p>\n

The US needs more ships and aircraft, operating from more places, and more missiles to counter the PLA\u2019s massive rocket force. But even then, America wouldn\u2019t be able to handle China by itself.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not enough to beef up numbers. The US needs real partners that can operate with its forces and are willing to fight if necessary. That requires choices that regional nations deeply linked to PRC markets and scared of Beijing have been loathe to make.<\/p>\n

The US can make the choice easier. It\u2019s a major economic player but seldom uses this power to pressure adversaries, or to support friends. It had better start doing both.<\/p>\n

Similarly, the US has scant physical commercial presence in much of the region, particularly in Central and South Pacific nations. These aren\u2019t huge markets but, from a strategist\u2019s perspective, they occupy key terrain. If you\u2019re not there, you\u2019re not interested, and the locals know it.<\/p>\n

America\u2019s political warfare (politely called \u2018strategic communications\u2019) is abysmal. Its diplomatic presence is limited\u2014or non-existent\u2014in too many places that matter. And, even when US diplomacy is present, political warfare seems not to be part of anyone\u2019s job description. Beijing is running circles around Washington.<\/p>\n

So, while the US has a base to work from, if it\u2019s serious about remaining a Pacific nation, much less a Pacific power, it needs to get its military in order with appropriate funding, size, capabilities and locations; marshal and deploy its economic and commercial power; relearn political warfare; and sell itself and its influence (demand for US \u2018green cards\u2019 suggests this shouldn\u2019t be hard). And it needs to do of all this with real partners. Australia, are you ready?<\/p>\n

To politically and economically reinforce each other and the region, the US and Australia, in parallel or in tandem, should:<\/p>\n