Former Pentagon Official Calls for ‘Strategy of Denial’ Against China

Naval vessels from the United States, Japan, India, and the Philippines conduct formation exercises and communication drills in the South China Sea in May 2019. Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force/U.S. Navy

The United States ought to pursue a strategy of denial in its dealings with China, mitigating the country’s capacity to undermine U.S. interests by preventing it from taking undesirable actions, according to a former Department of Defense official.

“Denial is the standard of denying China’s ability to subordinate our willing allies, and that includes Taiwan,” said Elbridge Colby, founder of the Marathon Initiative, a think tank focused on great power competition. “I’m concerned that if we’re not prepared and the Chinese are, we will actually increase the risk of war.”