Chinese Ways of War Essay

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Lai and Clausewitz

Clausewitz (1989) defined war as an “act of human intercourse” (p. 149), and just as in intercourse there are various modes of expressing oneself or making a point so too in warfare are there various strategies. Lai (2004) makes the case that the Western way of war is based in part on the theories of Clausewitz and on the idea that technological superiority is a major component of victories strategy. On the other hand, Lai (2004) suggests that there is something to be said for the Eastern way of war, which focuses on ethics, long-term strategy, the concept of “shi,” which refers to intelligence, deception, deterrence and stratagem, and diplomacy.

Clausewitz operates in the tradition of force—i.e., that force is what wins battles and that battles are fought on the battlefield. Lai’s focus on the Chinese way of war based on the Art of War by Sun Tzu suggests that battles are fought in the mind, in the culture, and in the human intercourse that extends beyond the battlefield.

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The Chinese extrapolate the war from its physical and finite aspects and conceptualize war in an abstract sense, seeing how as in chess a good strategy is one that opens up the board so that alliances and relationships can be established making one’s position invulnerable to attack.

Lai indicates that tactics on the battlefield can win wars, as the U.S. has shown to some degree, thanks in no small part to its use of dominant force, fire power and technical innovation. However, the Chinese are beginning to integrate technological innovation as a stratagem into their overall way of war; which means that they are now combining technological superiority with diplomacy whereas the West is primarily focused still on applying force as its only means of leverage.
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