Andrew S. Erickson; Evan Braden Montgomery; and Craig Neuman respond to Stephen Biddle and Ivan Oelrich's Summer 2016 article, "Future Warfare in the Western Pacific: Chinese Antiaccess/Area Denial, U.S. AirSea Battle, and Command of the Commons in East Asia."

This book addresses what will be needed to maintain the fundaments of U.S. seapower and force projection in the Asia-Pacific, and where the key trend lines are headed in that regard.

"China's rapid rise in national power across the board and the pace and scale of its increasing investment in the PLA, together with its limited willingness to release a breakdown of how this money is spent, ensure that the annual announcement of its official defense budget for the forthcoming fiscal year attracts considerable attention."

"A rebalancing of domestic priorities may ultimately allow Beijing to see greater benefits to cooperating with other countries in certain security situations. At the same time that they encourage China to increase its military transparency and contributions to cooperative security, the challenge for the U.S. and its allies will be how best to expend funding and focus to deter China from using force—or the threat of force—to resolve island and maritime claims disputes in its favor."

This article offers greater context and perspective for Chinese and Western discussions of China's rise and concomitant military build-up through a nuanced and comprehensive assessment of its defence spending and military transparency.