Report
U.S.-China Security Management: Assessing the Military-to-Military Relationship
Aug 16, 2004
Format | File Size | Notes |
---|---|---|
PDF file | 0.1 MB | Use Adobe Acrobat Reader version 10 or higher for the best experience. |
The United States and China have had a security relationship since 1971, when Henry Kissinger opened the door to cordial relations by sharing intelligence about the Soviet military. Recently, however, disagreements over key issues have led each country to regard the other as a strategic competitor and a potential enemy. For example, China views U.S. military assistance to Taiwan as an effort to undermine China's security and its claim to sovereignty over the island. China's failure to renounce the use of force against Taiwan—a policy opposed by the United States—has further elevated tensions and has even raised the possibility of armed conflict.
In 2001 the U.S. Department of Defense began to reassess the U.S.-China relationship to determine the appropriate nature of contact between the two militaries. A RAND Project AIR FORCE (PAF) study conducted in parallel with this effort recommends a program of security management with three aspects:
This research brief summarizes the findings of RAND Project AIR FORCE.
This report is part of the RAND Corporation research brief series. RAND research briefs present policy-oriented summaries of individual published, peer-reviewed documents or of a body of published work.
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.