The response to what? The response to the growth of PRC military growth and behaviors in the South China Sea. In the straight out of realism playbook, the following developments have found their way into the news this week.
The U.S. is going to engage in anti-submarine warfare training with the Indian Navy and Japanese Navy in the Indian Ocean. The Indian government cited the aggressive behavior of the PLAN (PRC Navy) in the region as a key reason. Also, careful followers should note that the Japanese Navy leads the way in tracking of and snooping on PLAN submarine forces. The U.S. Navy possesses the highest degree of technical expertise in anti-submarine warfare. Add this all together and you do not need to be a genius to understand why this training is taking place.
Japan announced that it is leasing military aircraft to the Philippine government. These aircraft are being used for military pilot training and for aircraft maintenance training. Couple this development with announced increases in the Philippine's military budget and intention to purchase more large patrol boats for the Philippine coast guard. What does this mean--well I am pretty sure you can get the picture.
For my two cents, I am glad that I was teaching both Asian Politics and Great Power Politics this spring. Events in the world have played out perfectly to show off-shore balancing, buck passing, and other balance of security behaviors foretold by some variants of realism. As well, Chinese behavior in the South China Sea has modeled well the behaviors of offensive realism and the desire to attain hegemonic status.
The U.S. is going to engage in anti-submarine warfare training with the Indian Navy and Japanese Navy in the Indian Ocean. The Indian government cited the aggressive behavior of the PLAN (PRC Navy) in the region as a key reason. Also, careful followers should note that the Japanese Navy leads the way in tracking of and snooping on PLAN submarine forces. The U.S. Navy possesses the highest degree of technical expertise in anti-submarine warfare. Add this all together and you do not need to be a genius to understand why this training is taking place.
Japan announced that it is leasing military aircraft to the Philippine government. These aircraft are being used for military pilot training and for aircraft maintenance training. Couple this development with announced increases in the Philippine's military budget and intention to purchase more large patrol boats for the Philippine coast guard. What does this mean--well I am pretty sure you can get the picture.
For my two cents, I am glad that I was teaching both Asian Politics and Great Power Politics this spring. Events in the world have played out perfectly to show off-shore balancing, buck passing, and other balance of security behaviors foretold by some variants of realism. As well, Chinese behavior in the South China Sea has modeled well the behaviors of offensive realism and the desire to attain hegemonic status.
