In an interview published on Tuesday, the outgoing chief of naval operations explained how the Navy is putting meat on the bones of the Trump administration’s strategy to uphold U.S.-led international order.
Speaking to Defense News, Admiral John Richardson described a Navy that is grappling with restored great power competition. Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis identified that strategic conception to guide the Pentagon in more effectively countering Chinese and Russian threats.
And on U.S. Navy freedom of navigation operations to challenge China’s sovereignty claims over vast areas of international waters in the South China Sea, Richardson was clear: “I think what has changed there is … we’ve kind of normalized our presence there, right? … it has been our consistent message that we are going to be present.”
Richardson noted that he has been explicit about this point with China, “the theme of every visit that I’ve made to China and every time I’ve talked with my counterparts there: We’re going to be consistent, you can count on us to be consistent and our actions will be consistent with our words. Our presence has been there constant for 70 years and you will see it in the future. This is a very important part of the world. You know, a third of the world’s trade flows through this body of water. Since the beginning of the Navy, we’ve been charged with protecting sea lanes, contributing to the economic element of national power. We’re going to be there.”
This is excellent stuff. China seeks to fundamentally alter the nature of international order away from the rule of law and democratic values and into a system of feudal mercantilism. Xi Jinping wants to militarily dominate the South China Sea so as to coerce regional actors and trading partners to bow to his whims. If he succeeds, China will be the only beneficiary. The region will become less free, and Americans — thanks to Chinese trade manipulation — will become poorer.
But until the Trump administration took office, the U.S. Navy lacked the authority to conduct this presence activity. These operations involve sending U.S. warships within 12 miles (that being the marker of sovereign waters) of artificially created islands that China absurdly claims are its sovereign territory. Where Xi was inspired by President Obama’s hesitancy to challenge him, the Chinese leader’s minions now see the U.S. Navy eyeball-to-eyeball every other day.
Richardson was clear that the Navy’s more robust forward leaning strategy isn’t transitory.
Referring to the freedom of navigation operations he noted, “You know, before they were something different and kind of a [big] deal. And now it’s: okay, we’re going to be here. And these are for claims around the world, right? Not just in the South China Sea. If you have an excessive maritime claim, you shouldn’t be surprised if we’re going to challenge that. So it’s really that our actions now are really consistent with our words.”
That is a signal to Russia as much as China. Vladimir Putin is very active in attempting to control areas of the Arctic Circle.
No, the Navy has not amassed a perfect record on resisting China, but it deserves the resources and political support to double down on this vision. Let us hope Admiral Mike Gilday takes his predecessor’s vision to the next level. And let us hope that President Trump, or his successor, continue to push Chinese and Russian anchors away from territorial thievery.
