Title The U.S.-China military scorecard : forces, geography, and the evolving balance of power, 1996-2017 / Eric Heginbotham, Michael Nixon, Forrest E. Morgan, Jacob Heim, Jeff Hagen, Sheng Li, Jeffrey G. Engstrom, Martin C. Libicki, Paul DeLuca, David A. Shlapak, David R. Frelinger, Burgess Laird, Kyle Brady, Lyle J. Morris.

Publication Info.	Santa Monica, Calif. : RAND Corporation, [2015]
	©2015

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Description	1 online resource (xxxix, 389 pages) : color maps and charts
	text file
Bibliography	Includes bibliographical references (pages 357-389).
Contents	Introduction -- Different paths: Chinese and U.S. military development, 1996-2017 -- Scorecard 1: Chinese capability to attack air bases -- Scorecard 2: air campaigns over Taiwan and the Spratly Islands -- Scorecard 3: U.S. penetration of Chinese airspace -- Scorecard 4: U.S. capability to attack Chinese air bases -- Scorecard 5: Chinese anti-surface warfare -- Scorecard 6: U.S. anti-surface warfare capabilities versus Chinese naval ships -- Scorecard 7: U.S. counterspace capabilities versus Chinese space systems -- Scorecard 8: Chinese counterspace capabilities versus U.S. space systems -- Scorecard 9: U.S. and Chinese cyberwarfare capabilities -- Scorecard 10: U.S. and Chinese strategic nuclear stability -- The receding frontier of U.S. dominance -- Implications and recommendations.
Summary	"Over the past two decades, China's People's Liberation Army has transformed itself from a large but antiquated force into a capable, modern military. Its technology and operational proficiency still lag behind those of the United States, but it has rapidly narrowed the gap. Moreover, China enjoys the advantage of proximity in most plausible conflict scenarios, and geographical advantage would likely neutralize many U.S. military strengths. A sound understanding of regional military issues -- including forces, geography, and the evolving balance of power -- will be essential for establishing appropriate U.S. political and military policies in Asia. This RAND study analyzes the development of respective Chinese and U.S. military capabilities in ten categories of military operations across two scenarios, one centered on Taiwan and one on the Spratly Islands. The analysis is presented in ten scorecards that assess military capabilities as they have evolved over four snapshot years: 1996, 2003, 2010, and 2017. The results show that China is not close to catching up to the United States in terms of aggregate capabilities, but also that it does not need to catch up to challenge the United States on its immediate periphery. Furthermore, although China's ability to project power to more distant locations remains limited, its reach is growing, and in the future U.S. military dominance is likely to be challenged at greater distances from China's coast. To maintain robust defense and deterrence capabilities in an era of fiscal constraints, the United States will need to ensure that its own operational concepts, procurement, and diplomacy anticipate future developments in Chinese military capabilities."--Back cover.
Local Note	eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America
	JSTOR Books at JSTOR Open Access
Subject	China -- Strategic aspects.
	China.
	China -- Military policy.
	Military policy.
	United States -- Military policy.
	United States.
	Spratly Islands -- Strategic aspects.
	Spratly Islands.
	Taiwan -- Strategic aspects.
	Taiwan.
	National security -- China.
	National security.
	National security -- United States.
	National security -- Pacific Area.
	Pacific Area.
	China -- Armed Forces.
	Armed Forces.
	United States -- Armed Forces.
Indexed Term	military balance
Genre/Form	Electronic books.
	Electronic books.
In:	Books at JSTOR: Open Access. JSTOR
Other Form:	Print version: Heginbotham, Eric. U.S.-China military scorecard. Santa Monica, CA : RAND, [2015] 9780833082190 (DLC) 2015031303 (OCoLC)919068130
ISBN	9780833082299 (electronic book)
	0833082299 (electronic book)
	0833082191
	9780833082190
	9780833082275
	0833082272
	9780833082282
	0833082280
	9780833082190 (paperback ; alkaline paper)

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