Huanqiu: China’s Has Urgent Need to Introduce the Grand Strategy of a Powerful Maritime Nation

Liang Fang, Professor of military strategy at the National Defense University of the PLA in China, published an article in Huanqiu (Global Times) urging China to implement a grand strategy to become a powerful maritime nation as soon as possible. He reasoned that “China’s maritime security faces unprecedented grim threats and challenges. The United States has carried out a full range of strategic encirclement and containment tactics in the Pacific by implementing its ‘Asia-Pacific re-balancing strategy.’ In the East and South China Sea, disputes with the neighboring countries over their maritime interests are becoming increasingly fierce. … The potential threat of conflict is increasing. At the same time, as the second largest economy in the world, economic globalization has transformed China into an export-oriented economy dependent on strategic maritime channels. Facing such a complex maritime security situation, China needs to develop and introduce a maritime strategy as soon as possible and speed up its development as a powerful maritime nation.”