ABSTRACT
Chapter 7 (“Political Rivalry”) examines the final dimension of “interactive arming.” The level of political rivalry, when two opponents are attempting to gain superiority to compel the other to do their will, is the primary rationale for states to engage in warfare, that is an ambition that goes beyond seeking parity or maintaining the status quo to one that seeks superiority in warfighting capabilities to achieve a political objective. Arming—like war—serves the state’s political objectives. The immediate level of enmity provides the ultimate determinant of the wherewithal for countries to resort to conflict to achieve political objectives. A legacy of the Cold War, the Republic of Korea–Democratic People’s Republic of Korea conflict is ongoing and continues to shape the structure of the armed forces of South Korea’s ballistic missile defence capability and North Korea’s nuclear capabilities. The chapter’s focus is on the critical political rivalry emerging in maritime Asia—the Sino–US relationship. The interactive arming between their military modernisation programs has progressed from a reaction to their geostrategic environments to a focus on political antagonism. Both countries perceive each other as a real and present danger are both sufficiently undeterred from defending their interests, and both have the political objective to use force to affect the strategic environment.
