The U.S. Navy should procure a fleet of diesel-powered submarines to meet the increasing demand for submarines with a shrinking defense budget. Diesels are cheaper than nuclear-powered subs, and they have the advantage of being better platforms for many of the tasks the Navy faces today.

The strategic requirements of the United States necessitate more military investment in the Asia-Pacific on an expedited schedule, as well as creative strategic thinking about building alliances with countries that are already funding their own military modernization programs.

China represents a challenge to America's dominance of the seas.

There are five broad trends leading to greater instability in the South China Sea in the coming years. These are the failure of UNCLOS--or the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea--a weakening of ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations), China's evolving South China Sea policy, Southeast Asian military modernization, and a hollowing out of the U.S. military.

It is past time for America to get serious about deterring the potentially worst sorts of Chinese behavior.

The capacity of the US military is both dangerously small and imperfectly shaped for the coming decades.

The Littoral Combat Ship will turn out to be more useful to the Navy than previously anticipated.

The United States must make it a priority to prevent China from destroying American bilateral alliances.