| Sea power refers to the control and its influence of a country over the maritime,which plays a strategic role in the political game of great powers in the 21st century.In the post-Cold War period,the global power is transferring from the Atlantic to the Asia-Pacific region,the governance structure in Asia-Pacific presents two centers.In the context of China's rising,the structural contradiction of maritime politics in East Asia has become more and more prominent.In the face of these new changes of the strategic ecology in East Asia's sea power,United States adjust its seapower strategy in order to continue to monopolize maritime power and to protect its own marine interests in East Asia region.The main question in the paper is how to explain why is the expansion of US sea power in East Asia after the end of the Cold War.It is well known that since the end of World War II,the United States gained the control over East Asia by use of its powerful sea power,but after the end of the Cold War,US government constantly adjusted its sea power strategy for East Asia,which shows a trend with five characteristics:first,it keeps up with the external environment changes in the initiative to adjust;second,it is highlighting the strategic investment in East Asia is increasing;third,it is a leading,trying to maintain technological competitive advantage;four,it is flexible,both emerging countries balance of action,but also cooperation strategy;fifth,it is uncertainty,US's interests in East Asia is the increasingly complex and unpredictable game.The adjustment of the United States strategy reflects its deepening dependence on East Asian sea power and strategic anxiety.In the paper,author uses the attribution method of strategic behavior to explain the power source of expansionary of US sea power strategy for East Asia in the post-cold war era.This paper argues that the change of international power structure,the increase of national identity demand and the outer uncertainty are the three basic variables that influence the adjustment of US sea power strategy for East Asia.There are positive logics among them.The paper puts forward three basic assumptions:First,the adjustment of the hegemony strategy is a kind of power-protected behavior driven by the pressure of sea power competition;second,the adjustment of the hegemony strategy is a kind of interest-enclosure behavior driven by the growth of the identity demand.Thirdly,the adjustment of the hegemony strategy is a kind of gambling behavior driven by uncertainty tension.The core of the first hypothesis is to emphasize that the hegemonic behavior is the result of international power change.The structural change of international power is the primary external driving force of the hegemonic strategy,the hegemony is highly sensitive to changes in international power structure.The greater the international power changes,the greater the hegemony's strategic pressure becomes,and the stronger the impulse to adjust strategic behavior is.With the development of the new scientific and technological revolution,globalization and marketization,the international power structure is changed,and the global power center is shifting from the Atlantic to the Pacific.East Asia has become the fastest region of world power.China's peaceful rise has created a bicenter governance structure,which china is the economic center and U.S.is the security center in East Asia.The competition in international public goods between China and the United States is intensifying,and it has a shaping effect on the economic integration and security structure in East Asia.Under the influence of maritime political complexity and fragmentation,East Asian countries are committed to accelerate naval modernization,there are many new changes in the strategic ecosystem of the western Pacific sea power,the structural contradictions of the great sea power is more and prominent,and sea power relations is reconstructing.U.S.is faced with tremendous pressure from the global,East Asia and seapower structures in the west Pacific region,which America's maritime hegemony in East Asia is encountering great challenges.As a result,these power changes are the external driving force for the adjustment of America's seapower strategy for East Asia.The core of the second hypothesis is to emphasize the hegemonic identity plays a shaping role in its strategic behavior.The identity attribute affects the boundary delineation of the national strategic interests.The hegemony's demand for identity is the main internal driving force of the strategic behavior adjustment,and exerts the incentive and the driving function to the strategic action of the hegemonic country.The stronger the hegemony's demand for identity is,the stronger its impetus to adjust strategy will become.The United States is a leading country in the world's ocean,whose identity is shaped by its own geographical,historical,theoretical,economic and military factors.After the Cold War,the United States' demands for hegemony identity focus on five aspects:power,honor and prestige,economy,security,ideology and so on,and these identity demands continue to grow when U.S.is in the relative decline.The growth of the identity demand has led to the expansion of the US seapower strategy for East Asia,whose strategic intention is to ensure the maritime superiority in the military,to control the maritime strategic channel in East Asia;to accelerate interaction with the East Asian economies,and to develop America's economy;to strengthen political ties with the allies,partners in East Asia,to build the fulcrum network led by U.S.,to balance the rise of emerging powers,to sustain the dominant status in the west Pacific.The core of the third hypothesis is to emphasis on the influence of uncertainty in the regional environment on the hegemony's strategic behavior.The uncertainty is an interfering factor that affects the national strategic behavior,can produce huge security tension,play a kind of regulation function to the strategic adjustment.The more uncertain factors is,the greater the security tension faced by hegemonic countries is,the more possibility the hegemony adjust strategic behavior.There are long-standing uncertainties in East Asia,which are manifested in the naval force competition,the distribution of marine resources,the territorial dispute,the delimitation of maritime boundaries and the increase of non-traditional security threats.It is an important intervention force for the United States to adjust its seapower strategy.For US,the uncertainty in the west Pacific has a double meaning.On the one hand,it is a huge risk,on the other hand,it also has strategic value.From a risky perspective,uncertainty factors can easily become a potential incentive for maritime conflicts in East Asia,and the United States will face the possibility of being abducted into maritime conflicts by its allies.From the strategic function,uncertainty is also a strategic leap for the United States,which can be looked as tool to threaten some countries in East Asia.America uses uncertainty in East Asian maritime to achieve its strategic goal to strengthen its frontier presence in the Western Pacific,and to leverage the East Asian maritime strategic landscape.The more uncertainty is,the more UnitedStates' reasons to obtain the legitimacy for the existence in the front are.When the uncertainty is reduced,the United States will deliberately enlarge the uncertainty,make use of the opportunity to speculate on maritime contradictions in East Asia,and disrupt the East Asian maritime order,whose tension is to "take chestnut over an open fire ",to increase the investment gains on venture capital.The expansion of America's sea-power strategy for East Asia not only reflected the strategic intention to maintain the status of maritime-dominated states by means of sea power,but also reflected the America's strategic anxiety on the rise of emerging powers in East Asia region.As a result,there is dual logic in the adjustment of US sea power strategy,on the one hand,it stresses balances,on the other hand also maintain contact and cooperation,which reflects American contradictions and misconceptions on a great power's rise after the end of the Cold War.Under the guidance of preventive strategic thinking,the US government has continuously optimized the allocation of sea power resources to enhance the level of sea power and strengthened its diplomatic strategy,Whose aim is to maintain the advantages of sea power in East Asia,to maintain the status of global marine leading countries,and to protect its strategic interests in East Asia.The spearhead of United States' East Asia sea power strategy is the emerging power,so US will make use of the alliance mechanism and partner network,continue to keep deep involvement in the maritime disputes in East Asia,intend to intervene in maritime politics,try its best to play a offshore balancer role in East Asia,whose strategic intents is to enlarge America's voice in East Asia ocean affairs,and to achieve national interests maximize.China's peaceful rise is the most significant change of world geopolitics in the 21st century,which it also brings double pressure to its own.First,the pressure to protect its overseas interests is increasing.Second,the pressure of international responsibility what china is expected by he international society is increasing.Therefore,it is a strategic choice to develop sea power for China.In the face of the strategic expansion of US maritime power in East Asia,China should actively promote the implementation of the maritime power strategy,adhere to the concept of peaceful development,adhere to the principle of hard work,firmly safeguard the national maritime interests,and strive to maintain strategic patient,make flexible use of strategic wisdom to accelerate the construction of sea power,accelerate the process of naval modernization,build a more balanced sea power relationship between China and the United States on the basis of non-confrontation,non-conflict and mutual trust.China and US should provide East Asian maritime security public goods with cooperation,co-construct new maritime order,and jointly defend the maritime security in the East Asia. |
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