GRAND STRATEGY AND NAVAL POWER: THE UNITES STATES OF AMERICA IN THE ASIA PACIFIC REGION AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 21ST CENTURY

• Main Author: Flavio Rocha Oliveira
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Marinha do Brasil, Escola de Guerra Naval 2018-08-01
• Series: Revista da Escola de Guerra Naval
• Subjects: grand strategy; usa; china; geopolitics; naval power
• Online Access: https://revista.egn.mar.mil.br/index.php/revistadaegn/article/view/706/pdf_1
• ISSN: 1809-3191; 2359-3075

The article investigates the implementation of the US Grand Strategy in Asia-Pacific. The focus will be on the political aspects (evaluation-decision-action) of the most obvious strategic component: the redisposition of the US fleet in the area, signaling Washington’s intentions to position itself in the face of the dynamics of changes in that region. The analysis will focus on Obama administration, in the period comprised between 2009 and 2016, which launched the idea of the American Pivot in the Pacific. Two central aspects of US government policy will be discussed: 1) the issue of national / international security in the face of the Chinese rise, especially related to the budget investment that China has made in its naval forces; 2) the great american concern about the destabilizing potential of an arms race in the area, considering the way that US government has watched the response that countries like Japan and India have given in relation to Chinese intentions. It will also be discussed how the US has privileged the naval component of its grand strategy to secure a military security situation that serves its geopolitical interests within a coalition alliance in the Pacific region and which includes Japan, Australia, and South Korea as its main partners.