“Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland; Who rules the Heartland commands the World Island; Who rules the World Island commands the World” —Sir Halford Mackinder, 1919
With only minor modification, these words of wisdom from one of the early geopolitical thinkers still ring true. The Heartland is once again threatened, just as it was during the World Wars and Cold War of the twentieth century.
While many in the professional American commentariat are bloviating about the current Ukraine/Crimea crisis and raising the specter of Hitler, Czechoslovakia and Munich Agreements, the more significant and longer-term challenge to the post World War II international security architecture is further east: China. Its rise and the increasing potential of more than a tactical entente with Russia should be ringing alarm bells amongst U.S. strategists.
China’s new assertiveness in the South China Sea and its “salami slicing” tactics concerning disputes over territory with neighbors, has already been causing fears in the region to heighten. Sino-Japanese tensions are also coming to a boil. With the precedent now set in Crimea, it is not at all clear that a green light for China to employ similar tactics in its hoped-for sphere of influence has not been given, no matter how unwittingly. However, the United States seems unable or unwilling to confront this increasingly plausible scenario and both its allies and competitors are taking note.
Source: nationalinterest.org
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