Learning from Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War'

The patrol vessels used high-intensity spotlights on the Victorious multiple times. The crew on the Victorious responded by sounding its alarm and shooting water from fire hoses at the vessels. The hour-long standoff ended only after the Victorious radioed Chinese military vessels for help.

China holds the U.S. responsible for unauthorized entering of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu characterized the incidence as a violation of international and Chinese laws by the U.S. and required the U.S. to take effective measures to prevent a similar incident from happening again.

The U.S., on the other hand, was silent on the confrontation, which is the fourth in the past month alone. The standoff was missing in a White House statement on the conversation between U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao.

The recent showdowns between the so-called G-2 nations are seen as indicators of China's increasing confidence in its naval might and Washington's reluctance to escalate situations in a time when it needs Beijing on broad to tackle issues such as the financial crisis, global warming, and North Korea's arms race.

The unprecedented display of maritime armory on the 60th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) on April 23 was a far cry from the celebration a decade ago, which was, as the Economist put it, “a little more than a few commemorative stamps and plenty of bunting.”

Not so this year. In a bit of chest pounding, China showcased two nuclear-powered submarines for the first time.

While China's naval power is still far behind that of the U.S., China's recent clashes with the U.S. are more than simple calls for attention, and should be regarded with caution.

Since the humiliation of seeing the U.S. aircraft carrier Nimitz enter the Taiwan Strait following the 1995-6 missile crisis, China has been eager to deny the U.S. unrestricted access to where it considers its own backyard.

Andrew F. Krepinevich, a military consultant and an expert future strategist, argued that China is not looking for a head-on ocean head bunt with the U.S., but to develop a military strategy that enables the weak to defeat the strong.

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