ABSTRACT
American leaders have often proclaimed that America’s well-being and prosperity and that of its allies have depended on an open liberal order and freedom of navigation and commerce, in the Western Pacific and elsewhere. To avoid the prospect of conflict with China and to obtain its cooperation over many other issues, they call for conceding geopolitical space to China. Nicholas Spykman first alerted Americans to the power potential of China. The difficulty is that the carrier is an American icon and has an entrenched position as a symbol of American naval power. The calculation of risk changes as these systems come on line and as naval forces become steadily networked with other offensive systems. The major assumption underlying pre-emptive accommodation is that China can be a responsible stakeholder in the international system, providing the sources of friction in the Western Pacific can be removed.
