[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][ut_animated_image size=”full” image=”4275″ css=”.vc_custom_1529283662963{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 1px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529283680906{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 2px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”]<\/p>\n
The USS Carl Vinson visited Da Nang, Vietnam in March 2018. It was the first time an American aircraft carrier visited the country since the Vietnam War. (Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Ethan J. Soto \/ U.S. Navy)<\/em><\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1529285005579{margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 2px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][ut_header align=”left” title_font_source=”google” title_google_fonts=”font_family:Playfair%20Display%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic%2C900%2C900italic|font_style:900%20bold%20regular%3A900%3Anormal” font_size=”74″ line_height=”78″ title=”High-stakes brinksmanship in the Pacific”][\/ut_header][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529289114726{padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”]<\/p>\n By Casey Egan and Ricky Zipp<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1529284713581{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 1px !important;padding-bottom: 10px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/6″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529289126499{border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”]WASHINGTON \u2014 Chinese President Xi Jinping, dressed in dark green camouflage, stood on the deck of a destroyer earlier this year and admired the massive display of military might: 10,000 soldiers, sailors and other personnel, 76 fighter jets, and 48 warships.<\/p>\n It was China\u2019s largest military exercise in the nation\u2019s modern history. It was as if, on that April day, Beijing owned the South China Sea. And, analysts say, that was the point.<\/p>\n China has been rapidly militarizing disputed territories in the South China Sea, some say as part of a strategy to usurp U.S. geopolitical dominance of the region, including\u00a0the critical shipping routes.<\/p>\n \u201cThe task of building a powerful People’s Navy has never been as urgent as it is today,\u201d Xi proudly told service members after the historic exercise.<\/p>\n The U.S. has countered China\u2019s island militarization with a more direct and aggressive approach.<\/p>\n After withdrawing an invitation to China to take part in an international military\u00a0exercise in May, the U.S. also flew two B-52 bombers over a contested island in the South China Sea. This move\u2014which the U.S. defended as a \u201croutine flying mission\u201d\u2014was harshly criticized by China, adding to the provocative, back-and-forth between the two powers.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/6″][ut_animated_image size=”full” image=”4450″ css=”.vc_custom_1529289137640{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 2px !important;padding-bottom: 50px !important;}”][ut_animated_image size=”full” image=”4451″ css=”.vc_custom_1529288945518{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529288957023{padding-top: 2px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”]<\/p>\n Chinese President Xi Jinping oversee\u2019s the country\u2019s largest military drill in modern history in April 2018. The drill took place in the South China Sea with 76 fighter jets and 48 warships participating. (Li Gang \/ Xinhua)<\/em><\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1529285606573{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″ css=”.vc_custom_1529285662410{padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529286725373{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;}”]\u201cThere is a polarization going on in the region that\u2019s fundamentally driven by this U.S.-China competition,\u201d said Timothy Heath, a senior international defense researcher at the RAND Corporation, a prominent think tank. \u201cAll friction points are likely to see more friction.\u201d<\/p>\n The Navy is also patrolling the sea lanes at a pace that has pushed its 7th Fleet operations tempo to the most demanding in decades in order to safeguard U.S. commercial interests and affirm the country\u2019s commitments to regional allies and partners.<\/p>\n Last summer, after two 7th Fleet destroyers were involved in collisions that cost 17 sailors their lives, the intensity of Western Pacific operations was brought into broader public view.<\/p>\n U.S. military operations in the region were spotlighted even more in recent days, as President Trump held a June 12 summit in Singapore with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. And while Trump vowed to end U.S. war games with South Korean forces, the full impact on future U.S. Navy operations in the Western Pacific is far from clear, as are nearly all details coming out of their meeting.<\/p>\n Xi vowed during a 2015 speech at the White House that Beijing would not militarize outposts in the South China Sea. However, Xi also stated that China has the right to defend its \u201cterritorial sovereignty and lawful and legitimate maritime rights and interests\u201d and said many of the islands have belonged to China since \u201cancient times.\u201d<\/p>\n Bryan Clark, a former Navy officer and special assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations, said that China\u2019s militarization of islands in the region has been incremental in order to avoid a dramatic escalation with the U.S or an outbreak of war. Yet, he said, the U.S. should have understood China\u2019s strategy long ago and come up with an approach to resist it.<\/p>\n Over the last five years, China has methodically developed islands in the South China Sea that are in the middle of a territorial dispute with multiple other nations, ignoring international law and courts. The U.S. Navy has responded by routinely sailing warships through these disputed waters as a projection of military and political might.[\/vc_column_text][ut_video_player caption_font_weight=”bold” url=”https:\/\/vimeo.com\/274796279″ play_bg_color=”#49708a” css=”.vc_custom_1529286562302{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 2px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529286544974{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 1px !important;padding-bottom: 10px !important;}”]<\/p>\n In a 2015 speech in the White House Rose Garden, Chinese President Xi Jinping assured members of the press that his country would not militarize disputed outposts in the Spratly Island chain. (White House)<\/em><\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_column_text]The U.S. also recently heightened tensions with China, by naming it as a direct competitor of the U.S. as part of the Trump administration\u2019s release of its National Security Strategy (NSS) and National Defense Strategy, both of which were highly critical of Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific.<\/p>\n Robert Sutter, Professor of Practice of International Affairs at the Elliott School of George Washington University, said that the U.S. and China are in an \u201cunremitting struggle,\u201d and the language used by the Trump administration in the two national security reports has not been used by the U.S. in decades.<\/p>\n \u201cChina and Russia want to shape a world antithetical to U.S. values and interests,\u201d stated the 2017 NSS. \u201cChina seeks to displace the United States in the Indo-Pacific region, expand the reaches of its state-driven economic model, and reorder the region in its favor.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe just haven’t seen something like this since Nixon,\u201d Sutter said. \u201cThis is a Cold War document.\u201d<\/p>\n The stakes of the Western Pacific chess match being played by the U.S. and China are potentially enormous.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody is keenly aware . . . [of] what\u2019s at play and the importance that our interests are protected and understood,\u201d said Capt. Michael Donnelly, commanding officer of the USS Ronald Reagan, in an interview in Yokosuka, Japan, homeport to the ship as the Navy\u2019s forward deployed aircraft carrier.[\/vc_column_text][ut_animated_image size=”full” image=”4475″ css=”.vc_custom_1529287299452{margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 2px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529428386018{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 1px !important;padding-bottom: 10px !important;}”]<\/p>\n The USS Ronald Reagan is the US Navy\u2019s only forward deployed aircraft carrier. Its home port is Yokosuka, Japan home of the 7th Fleet. (Ricky Zipp \/ Medill)<\/em><\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_column_text]The South China Sea is hotly contested for a litany of economic, political, and historical reasons. Twenty-one percent of all global trade made its way through the waterway in 2016, according to research by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The same study found that nearly two-thirds of China\u2019s maritime trade traversed the sea, and nearly 42 percent of Japan\u2019s maritime trade did as well.<\/p>\n But the South China Sea has more than economic meaning for Indo-Pacific nations on its shores. In China\u2019s case, the ties are also linked to nationalism and sovereignty claims.<\/p>\n China believes it has territorial sovereignty over what is known as the \u201cnine-dash line,\u201d a region that encompasses the majority of the South China Sea and has been claimed as sovereign territory by the government of China since 1947.<\/p>\n While countries openly challenge their claim, China remains adamant that the area within the nine-dash line be recognized as its territory despite being disputed by the international community. China became more adamant after the discovery of oil and gas beneath the surface.[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1529289362953{padding-top: 20px !important;}”][ut_custom_heading tag=”p” font_source=”google” google_fonts=”font_family:Open%20Sans%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C600%2C600italic%2C700%2C700italic%2C800%2C800italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” font_size=”24″]China\u2019s disputed claim in the South China Sea[\/ut_custom_heading][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n China\u2019s sovereignty claim in the South China Sea includes the majority of the resource-rich waterway, a position of the country for over 70 years. A Hague-based international court ruled differently in 2016. <\/span><\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][ut_animated_image size=”full” image=”4478″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529287870520{margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”]\u201cFrom China’s perspective, there had been no dispute or contest until the 1970s when oil and gas were discovered in the region,\u201d said Zhiqun Zhu, a professor of political science and international relations at Bucknell University and a member of the National Committee on United States-China Relations.<\/p>\n In March, China made a historic move by altering its constitution to remove term limits for presidents. That allows Xi to remain president for life. Xi has signaled a new era of Chinese power projection amidst unprecedented economic growth. Some analysts predict that China will surpass the U.S. as the largest economy in the world before 2030.<\/p>\n \u201cXi is undoubtedly the most powerful and most daring Chinese leader in decades ,\u201d said Zhu in an email. \u201cHowever, I do not think he is adventurous or irrational. \u00a0Outsiders may think China’s moves in the [South China Sea] are aggressive, but Xi is unlikely to rock the boat and initiate a conflict in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n In congressional testimony in March, Admiral Harry Harris, then the top military commander in the Pacific region, predicted that if Chinese military modernization continues at its current pace, the Chinese Navy will surpass Russia as the world\u2019s second largest naval force by 2020.<\/p>\n There are two main island groups in the South China Sea that are at the center of the dispute: the Paracel islands and the Spratly islands, the same island group Xi vowed not to militarize.<\/p>\n However, China has now developed military facilities on seven of the islands in the group over the last few years. The islands have been outfitted with airstrips capable of landing and launching military aircraft, hangars that can hold fighter jets and bombers, barracks, and ammunition storage facilities.<\/p>\n Harris said that current features placed on the island are \u201cshort-term defensive,\u201d but the U.S. should expect Beijing to use these facilities \u201cto support advanced military capabilities.\u201d Harris believes that these islands are meant to project China\u2019s power across the entirety of the South China Sea.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1529287856115{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1529289441569{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 30px !important;}”][ut_custom_heading tag=”p” font_source=”google” google_fonts=”font_family:Open%20Sans%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C600%2C600italic%2C700%2C700italic%2C800%2C800italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” font_size=”24″]Chinese development in the South China Sea[\/ut_custom_heading][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n Satellite images show the before and after of Chinese development of military outposts on disputed islands and atolls in the South China Sea. Some of the islands are outfitted with military barracks, airplane hangars, and have 10,000 foot runways.<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html css=”.vc_custom_1529744921912{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”]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[\/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529438719060{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”]<\/p>\n WOODY ISLAND\u00a0<\/strong>This small island in the Paracel Island group has been rapidly developed over the course of the past five years. In May, China landed a long-range nuclear bomber on Woody Island, the first time it is believed to have done so in the South China Sea.<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html css=”.vc_custom_1529745113560{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”]JTNDc3R5bGUlM0UuZW1iZWQtY29udGFpbmVyJTIwJTdCJTIwcG9zaXRpb24lM0ElMjByZWxhdGl2ZSUzQiUyMHBhZGRpbmctYm90dG9tJTNBJTIwNTYuMjUlMjUlM0IlMjBoZWlnaHQlM0ElMjAwJTNCJTIwb3ZlcmZsb3clM0ElMjBoaWRkZW4lM0IlMjBtYXgtd2lkdGglM0ElMjAxMDAlMjUlM0IlMjAlN0QlMjAuZW1iZWQtY29udGFpbmVyJTIwaWZyYW1lJTJDJTIwLmVtYmVkLWNvbnRhaW5lciUyMG9iamVjdCUyQyUyMC5lbWJlZC1jb250YWluZXIlMjBlbWJlZCUyMCU3QiUyMHBvc2l0aW9uJTNBJTIwYWJzb2x1dGUlM0IlMjB0b3AlM0ElMjAwJTNCJTIwbGVmdCUzQSUyMDAlM0IlMjB3aWR0aCUzQSUyMDEwMCUyNSUzQiUyMGhlaWdodCUzQSUyMDEwMCUyNSUzQiUyMCU3RCUzQyUyRnN0eWxlJTNFJTNDZGl2JTIwY2xhc3MlM0QlMjdlbWJlZC1jb250YWluZXIlMjclM0UlM0NpZnJhbWUlMjBmcmFtZWJvcmRlciUzRCUyNzAlMjclMjBjbGFzcyUzRCUyN2p1eHRhcG9zZSUyNyUyMHdpZHRoJTNEJTI3MTAwJTI1JTI3JTIwaGVpZ2h0JTNEJTI3NTkwJTI3JTIwc3JjJTNEJTI3aHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZjZG4ua25pZ2h0bGFiLmNvbSUyRmxpYnMlMkZqdXh0YXBvc2UlMkZsYXRlc3QlMkZlbWJlZCUyRmluZGV4Lmh0bWwlM0Z1aWQlM0QyOGViNGE4MC03M2ZhLTExZTgtYjI2My0wZWRhZjhmODFlMjclMjclM0UlM0MlMkZpZnJhbWUlM0UlM0MlMkZkaXYlM0U=[\/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529438734878{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”]<\/p>\n MISCHIEF REEF\u00a0<\/b>In March 2018, the USS Mustin, a guided missile destroyer, sailed within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef during a freedom of navigation operation to challenge China\u2019s territorial claim.<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_raw_html css=”.vc_custom_1529745142478{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”]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[\/vc_raw_html][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529438746518{padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”]<\/p>\n SUBI REEF\u00a0<\/b>This outpost is located in the Spratly Islands and China assumed possession over the reef since 1988.<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_separator css=”.vc_custom_1529287932904{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;}”][vc_column_text]To challenge China\u2019s claims and militarization over disputed island groups, the U.S. Navy regularly conducts freedom-of-navigation operations (FONOPs) through the South China Sea. FONOPs, in this case, involve the sailing of a naval vessel through the disputed waters to show that the U.S. does not recognize China\u2019s nine-dash line claim.<\/p>\n Bonnie Glaser, director of the China Power project at CSIS, believes that the Trump administration is handling FONOPs differently than the Obama administration, calling the strategy \u201cclearer, more regular, and directly challenging China in ways that the Obama administration was a little anxious about doing.\u201d<\/p>\n Retired Admiral Gary Roughead, former Chief of Naval Operations who spent the majority of his career working the Indo-Pacific, said that the U.S. would need to be bolder if it wants to show a commitment to discouraging Chinese aggression.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you want to deter, you have to deter with something more than a freedom of navigation operation,\u201d Roughead said in an interview.<\/p>\n Roughead believes a multi-pronged approach in the region would best signal U.S. resolve.<\/p>\n \u201cWe should operate more routinely in the South and East China Seas, with partners and also unilaterally,\u201d he said in an email. \u201cAssociated with those exercises should be more frequent port calls in SE Asian ports with professional and humanitarian activities scheduled with respective host nation militaries and other organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n China\u2019s nine-dash line claim of territory was directly challenged by an international court in 2016, but this ruling has been ignored by China — which continues to justify its actions with their claim of historical rights to the area.<\/p>\n Neighboring countries also play an important role in both the U.S. and China\u2019s pursuit for influence.<\/p>\n Vietnam and the Philippines, among a handful of countries, have growing economies that depend on the resources in the South China Sea. A crucial part of their economies depends on their ability to drill for oil and fish in nearby waters.<\/p>\n After Vietnam contracted a Spanish oil company to drill for oil in waters they believed to be within their sovereign territory, executives from Repsol, a Spanish oil firm, reportedly said that China threatened a military conflict with Vietnam in the Spratly islands if Vietnam went ahead with the project. Vietnam pulled out of the project in March.<\/p>\n The U.S. is taking a more accommodating approach to Vietnam. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. has increased its annual trade with Vietnam by around $53 billion since 2000.<\/p>\n The Navy is also extending a diplomatic hand to the Vietnamese. In March, the USS Carl Vinson made a port visit to Danang. That was the first visit to the country by a U.S. aircraft carrier since the end of the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n Heath, the RAND researcher, said that while the chance for a military conflict between the U.S. and China remains low, he believes that neither country is going to make significant strategic concessions regarding the South China Sea.<\/p>\n While the levels of tension between the U.S., China, and neighboring countries has fluctuated over the years, Heath says this new era of antagonism between the two powers is here to stay.\u00a0 \u201cThe trend is for this to start to become the new normal,\u201d he said.[\/vc_column_text][ut_animated_image size=”full” image=”4483″ css=”.vc_custom_1529288196289{margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 1px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529288206612{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 2px !important;}”]<\/p>\n U.S. Navy personnel aboard the USS Carl Vinson interact with Vietnamese officials during the ship\u2019s visit to the country in March 2018. The visit also acted as a form of diplomacy, as sailors engaged in a range of community service and relationship building exercises during their visit. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nicholas Foley \/ U.S. Navy)<\/em><\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][ut_animated_image size=”full” image=”4275″ css=”.vc_custom_1529283662963{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;padding-bottom: 1px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1529283680906{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;border-bottom-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 2px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”] The USS Carl Vinson visited Da Nang, Vietnam in March 2018. It was the first time an American aircraft carrier visited the country since the Vietnam […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-4445","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalsecurityzone.medill.northwestern.edu\/navys-wake-up-call\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalsecurityzone.medill.northwestern.edu\/navys-wake-up-call\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalsecurityzone.medill.northwestern.edu\/navys-wake-up-call\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalsecurityzone.medill.northwestern.edu\/navys-wake-up-call\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalsecurityzone.medill.northwestern.edu\/navys-wake-up-call\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nationalsecurityzone.medill.northwestern.edu\/navys-wake-up-call\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4445\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalsecurityzone.medill.northwestern.edu\/navys-wake-up-call\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}China and the U.S. flex muscles for regional dominance<\/h2>\n