China thus requires a strategy that discourages other nations from joining or remaining in the anti-hegemonic coalition. Beijing must be able to penalize other nations so that they judge that the costs and risks of joining outweigh the benefits. It can draw on diplomatic, economic, and other nonmilitary instruments of national power to fashion these penalties. But, crucially, China is very unlikely to succeed in attaining regional hegemony if the penalties do not include a core military component, given the unique coercive efficacy of force and the exceedingly high stakes for states seeking to
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