China and the United States are at strategic odds in the South China Sea. The U.S. is striving to maintain — and if necessary — demonstrate its dominance while China is expanding its might and reach. Respective nuclear warfare strategies may even play a role with China basing and operating its nuclear armed submarines there while the U.S. seeks to neutralize them.

The U.S. and China have had some rather dangerous flare-ups during U.S. intelligence-gathering activities there regarding what China believes are U.S. violations of the Law of the Sea and the U.S. maintains is its right to freedom of navigation. Indeed, the EP-3 and the Impeccable incidents have tested the nerves of commanders and defense leaders on both sides.

The recent rash of China bashing in the U.S. has not helped the situation. Aaron Friedberg, who was a close adviser to former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, argues for a higher defense budget to meet the China "threat" — even in the face of overwhelming U.S. fiscal challenges. Concern about China's military "buildup" has also spread to U.S. allies Japan and Australia. Friedberg maintains that China is seeking to become "Asia's dominant power by eroding the credibility of America's security guarantees, hollowing out its alliances and eventually easing it out of the region." If this "challenge" is not met, warns Friedberg, "China will be able to sow doubt in America's staying power and thus persuade Southeast Asian countries to "accommodate China's wishes." Meanwhile, Dan Blumenthal and colleagues at the American Enterprise Institute have called for an adequate defense budget "to cope with the looming China threat." Their article says failure to do so could "lead to Armageddon."