Former Pentagon Official Calls for ‘Strategy of Denial’ Against China

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Former Pentagon Official Calls for ‘Strategy of Denial’ Against China
By: Andrew Thornebrooke - The Epoch Times - 11-06-21
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Naval vessels from the U.S., Japan, India and the Philippines conduct formation exercises and communication drills in the South China Sea, May 2019. (Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force/U.S. Navy)

The United States ought to pursue a strategy of denial, mitigating China’s capacity to undermine U.S. interests by preventing it from taking undesirable actions, according to a former Department of Defense (DoD) official.

“Denial is the standard of denying China’s ability to subordinate our willing allies, and that includes Taiwan,” said Elbridge Colby, founder of the Marathon Initiative, a think tank focused on great power competition.

“I’m concerned that if we’re not prepared and the Chinese are, we will actually increase the risk of war.”

Colby delivered the remarks at a Brookings Institution webinar dedicated to unpacking his new book, “The Strategy of Denial: American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict.”

Colby previously served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development. In that role, he led efforts to craft the 2018 National Defense Strategy, which was the first of its kind to identify countering China as the core organizing focus of U.S. defense policy.

The ideas explored in the book reflect in many ways the lessons learned in the years since that strategy was released, and the strategic developments that continue to shape the Sino-American relationship.

“The book is essentially motivated by my sense that we are, in effect, continuing to pursue this sort of global strategy of heavy engagement that we’ve pursued since the end of the Cold War,” Colby said.

Colby warned that the United States’ strategic aspirations were outpacing its military and diplomatic capabilities. Because of this, the nation risked stretching itself too thinly to effectively prevent or win a war.

To change that, Colby said that the United States needed to deny China the ability of siphoning off international support, and to continue building its international coalition against Chinese adventurism. That means ensuring that allies and partners feel protected from China’s machinations.

“The key to keeping this coalition going is for states that are in it to think that they will be protected enough to make it a rational decision,” Colby said.

“I think a lot of states want a balance, but if they don’t think they’re going to be protected they’re going to cut a deal. They’re going to bandwagon.”

Colby said that a sound defense strategy needed to proceed from a rational grand strategy. Thus Washington’s actions around the world should proceed in a manner consistent with the rational self-interests of Americans, he said.

“We don’t want to let any other state become so powerful that they can coerce us about our core interests, our freedom, our security, and our prosperity, which are so central to the American idea and American life,” Colby said.

To that end, Colby recommended that the United States “sprint” to maximal deterrence and denial capabilities to bring China to the proverbial negotiating table and eventually reach a détente.

The reason for this strategy, he said, was that China would be very cautious about starting a war, but once it is involved in one would likely commit itself wholeheartedly. Thus, front-loading U.S. and allied power to prevent a conflict from ever starting was key to avoiding catastrophe.

“I’m not looking to regime change them or humiliate them or stop their growth,” Colby said. “But I want them to have to negotiate the terms of their future rise on terms that are acceptable to us.”

About this writer: Andrew Thornebrooke is a reporter for The Epoch Times covering China-related issues with a focus on defense, military affairs, and national security. He holds a MA in military history from Norwich University.