The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations

by Daniel Yergin

A much stronger military-to-military dialogue and greater transparency about programs could help to mitigate the growing “strategic mistrust” and the uncertainty about the critical but often murky question of intentions. A step was taken in that direction with two confidence-building measures. In 2014, the United States and China agreed to alert each other to major military exercises in the region and adopted “rules of behavior” for managing naval and air force encounters. Tempering the passions of populist nationalism in the countries bordering the sea would give governments more flexibility to resolve differences. Clarification on the treatment of “land features” and their “rights” in the adjacent waters of these “features”