It is not thinkable to contain China and to pretend that we can only erodes our position.
Conversely, fearing the need to confront bad behavior for fear of upsetting our vital relations
with China fails to grasp the larger stakes at play over the future regional order. It also succumbs
to a curious belief that China will reward weakness. The reason I believe a strategy of
cooperation through strength, including cost-imposition measures, will work is because it is, or
at least can be if embedded in a larger foreign policy framework, predicated on powerful
common interests. Chinese propaganda and distrust notwithstanding, America truly does seek
an inclusive system in which rules are equitably worked out among all. Rules such as those
calling for settling disputes peacefully and not using force or coercion to alter the status quo
ultimately benefit all, including China. They are rules we can all live by.