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Title:
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China Struggles with South China Sea Priorities: Sovereignty, Neighbors & Ties with the U.S.
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Author:
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Shi Yinhong
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Source:
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China US Focus
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Date:
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July 12, 2016
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Description:
- The basic logic of interaction between a rising power and an incumbent power is worth examination. Throughout human history, rising powers tend to benefit repeatedly from limited pushes, therefore they are prone to lack the willingness to reduce the momentum toward an ultimate conflict. Meanwhile, incumbent powers, with their strength in decline, tend to be forced to shrink, or in fact make limited concessions, but they may eventually find no more room for further concession and determine to fight. Rising powers are inclined to disregard or make light of what Karl Von Clausewitz called “culminating point of victory”, incumbent powers, on the other hand, are inclined to ignore or procrastinate defining “bottom lines for concession”. Such a scenario may begin to emerge on the South China Sea issue.
