New Zealand, a United States ally and China trade partner, is walking a tight rope as tensions between the economic superpowers ratchet up. A tightrope, that according to retired US Navy Commander John F. Bradford, could snap at any moment: “It’s business as usual, until it isn’t.” Bradford, co-author of America, Sea Power, and the World, claims that should China’s threats tip into conflict, the United States would be left with little choice but to respond with military force – lest it be seen as a weak actor by its allies. He says the future over the right to occupy territory in the South China Sea and Taiwan is problematic and unpredictable and maintains that a strong defence is the best deterrence to war.
Photo: TED ALJIBE
