I believe China seeks hegemony in East Asia. Simple as that. Such were the words Admiral Harry
Harris Commander U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) used to describe Chinese actions in East Asia.
After two decades of effort towards modernization it seems that the People's Liberation Army
Navy (PLAN) is in a position to challenge US primacy in East Asia. The PLAN has developed both
in terms of capability and strategy through its emphasis on Anti-Access Area Denial (A2 AD) and
blue-water forces embracing Alfred Thayer Mahan's ideas on access and sea control. What we are
witnessing in China is a shift in thinking: from a continental viewpoint to a maritime one.
After a decade of wars in the Middle East the US has been taken by surprise. Today it looks at
China's naval build-up as threatening. The US has taken steps to refocus its attention on East
Asia and meet the challenge of a contested sea. The dynamics of the Sino-American relation will
also be examined through the lens of Thucydides and his ideas of great power. This study
discusses Mahan's and Thucydides' influence on Chinese and American ways of thinking and
whether it will impact the future trajectory of the Sino-American relationship. The main
developments in capability and strategy on both sides will also be examined.
