Does China Need a String of Pearls
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Authors
Conrad, Martin E.
Subjects
China
String of Pearls
Overseas bases
Military Strategy
Maritime Strategy
Energy Futures of Asia
Cyber
Space
Unmanned Vehicles
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV)
Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA)
String of Pearls
Overseas bases
Military Strategy
Maritime Strategy
Energy Futures of Asia
Cyber
Space
Unmanned Vehicles
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV)
Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA)
Advisors
Twomey, Christopher
Date of Issue
2012-09
Date
Sep-12
Publisher
Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
Is China trying to build a String of Pearls in the Indian Ocean My hypothesis is that China is not looking to build large overseas military bases in the Indian Ocean. With the revolution in military affairs and improvements in C4ISR over the last twenty years, international military bases are no longer as critical to intelligence collection and force projection as they were during the 20th century. This reduces the necessity of overseas bases to primarily serve as logistics hubswhich can be contracted out to host countries and reduce/eliminate the need to establish large overseas military bases. This thesis attempts to prove this hypothesis by examining improvements in military capabilities that include satellites, open source intelligence, cyberspace, and unmanned vehicles. With these improvements established, this thesis examines three comparative case studies involving states that have decided to reduce their international maritime presence over the last twenty years. Finally, Chinese perceptions and behaviors are examined to determine whether China is operating according to a post-Mahan international force projection theory.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
National Security Affairs
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.