China Executes our Maritime Strategy

News here of China's decision to send a task force to the Horn of Africa (HOA) to aid in international efforts to combat piracy. Lo and behold, China is 1) acting like a responsible world citizen and 2) using the broad maritime commons as a low-impact venue for international cooperation. What China is doing is entirely consistent with the central tenets of the US Maritime Strategy "A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower" with which I was associated while on active duty. We were heavily criticized for not calling China out in the document, but our data mining of both intelligence and media sources indicated that they knew EXACTLY which sections were targeted at them. Moreover, we sought with this strategy a methodology for tying China EVEN MORE CLOSELY to the international system in which it has considerable and growing equity. What is it that will keep the US and China from fighting a war someday? Shared interests. Pure and simple. We share an interest in the smooth functioning of the international order, and Navies are uniquely postured to help regulate that functioning (what Tom Barnett calls the "Sysadmin" function).