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"Landlocked" is stretching it. It's >800 miles from Kagoshima to Taipei, >300mi from Kaohsiung to Laoag, and ~680mi from Laoag to Hainan. Add in the Tsushima
by jpatokal 12y ago
"Landlocked" is stretching it. It's >800 miles from Kagoshima to Taipei, >300mi from Kaohsiung to Laoag, and ~680mi from Laoag to Hainan. Add in the Tsushima Straits and the bit between Hainan and Vietnam, and that's over 2000 mi of ocean that you'd need to blockade to block China from the Pacific.
- eob 12y agoPerhaps, if we're arguing word choice, but the broader point is that no megapower wants to play Red Rover for easy access to an ocean if war broke out. Until we develop space-based weapons platforms and/or hypersonic missiles, naval power will remain the key means of projecting power and buffering coastline vulnerability. As long as naval power remains so important, unquestionable access to nearby bodies of water will be primary objects of power projection.