Western Pacific, Indian Ocean Now Strategic Center of the World -- Defense Tech
So says Robert Kaplan, influential (particularly inside the Pentagon) author and semi-resident at various Washington DC think tanks. We highlighted some comments from Kaplan the other day at a conference on security and climate change. On a conference call with reporters Friday discussing his new Foreign Affairs piece, “The Geography of Chinese Power,” Kaplan argued for shifting our strategic focus from the Middle East to WESTPAC. The key area to watch closely is the South China Sea, as important in the 21st century as the Gulf was in in the 20th.
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My Comment: I completely agree with Robert Kaplan's assessment.
Should we be surprised .... no. More than half of the world's population lives here, and as they rush to modernize their societies .... coupled with the political/military/economic tensions that will result from this growth .... one can then only imagine the incredible dynamism and energy that it will produce.
Will this "strategic shift" impact us in the near future .... I say that it is impacting us right now.