"One warship – enough to win a global war?" Topic

"… the U.S. Navy announced that the first of a new class of coastal warships will be sent to Singapore next spring for a roughly 10-month deployment.

The proposed move may seem insignificant in terms of the total capacity of only one warship, but it definitely highlights a strategic pivot in U.S. policies in Asia Pacific, and the determination to engage regional powers with one sole purpose of containing China.

Recent months have witnessed a growing tension in the maritime area of South China Sea between China on the one hand, and Vietnam, the Philippines and several other littoral countries on the other. China claims that most of the islands in the South China Sea fall under its territory – a claim other littoral countries are not ready to agree with. In April, China and the Philippines narrowly escaped the option of a maritime dispute turning into a military standoff, when China deployed warships in order to protect fishing vessels fishing in the disputed waters and threatened to be arrested by the Philippine navy. Similar incidents happened throughout March and April between China and Vietnam.

The territorial disputes have attracted attention of other important players from outside the region, namely the U.S. and India, both trying to expand cooperation with China's rivals.

The new U.S. strategic pivot was announced last year, when President Obama ordered stepped-up emphasis on the Asia-Pacific region in a "rebalancing" of U.S. national security planning. Since then, several important developments have taken place, including the posting of 1,500 U.S. marines in Australia, and maritime drills with the Philippines in the South China Sea.

Now, what's so special about Singapore. The fact is that this tiny state is strategically located on the southernmost tip of the Malay Peninsula, and thus creates a convenient stronghold for the control of a strategically important choke point in the narrowest part of the Strait of Malacca.

It should be noted that the Strait of Malacca is one of the most important global trading thoroughfares with almost 40 percent of world trade flowing through it. That amount includes the overwhelming portion of oil supplies transported to China from the Persian Gulf and Africa. Imagine that the current standoff between China and any of its neighbors turns into an open warfare. In that case, one warship would be basically sufficient to completely block the bottleneck of the Strait of Malacca which at its narrowest point does not exceed 2.8 km (1.5 nautical miles). Deprived of oil, China would not last long in a military standoff even with much weaker rivals.

In recent years, China has been extensively building up its strategy called "the string of pearls" consisting in creating port, road and pipeline infrastructure in the littoral countries of the Indian Ocean basin (namely, Pakistan and Myanmar), which would enable it to bypass the narrow Strait of Malacca. But the strategy has not yielded its fruit, and the Strait of Malacca remains the only gateway for the goods to enter Chinese waters.

Deployment of U.S. warships in Singapore, accompanied by the marines in Australia, and Indian and U.S. navies regularly penetrating into the South China Sea dramatically alters the whole strategic situation in the region. In fact, China appears to be surrounded by its geopolitical rivals, having no allies in East and South East Asia, except North Korea, and no reliable allies whatsoever.

So, the move of one U.S. warship to Singapore should not be underestimated. This is only a first step, and the U.S. is definitely going to pump up its military presence in the region by establishing permanent stations in Southeast Asia.

The whole situation leaves only one question unanswered. The Strait of Malacca is famous not only as an important trading thoroughfare, but, along with the African Horn, also as one of the two maritime areas most seriously affected by pirates. If blocking the Strait for cargo ships and oil tankers seems to be an easy task that may be accomplished by a few warships, then why would the U.S. not pay greater attention to anti-piracy struggle. Indeed, that would be a much more helpful use of military power than trying to isolate China."
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Who can imagine at 1970 that 40 years later the US Navy would help to patrol side by side with Vietnam Navy?

Amicalement
Armand

The straits are definitely the easiest way to get oil where the Chinese need it, but they are not the only sea route.

Especially with other nations in the SEA area probably wanting to stay neutral in any conflict, it would be inconvenient at worst.

Also, one ship would not last long; 'tis folly to think the Chinese have not already thought of this and have formatted two dozen or more possible contingency plans to "handle" a blockade.

One could liken it to the Chinese blockading the Panama Canal (a similar choke point) to all US ships. There are other "inconvenient" routes around nations that would want to stay neutral, and I'm sure the USA has a plethora of options and plans "just in case." How long does one think the Chinese ships would last?

"One warship – enough to win a global war?"

Depends what it's armed with …

Yeah, one warship can win a global war. The USS Ohio wouldn't have much trouble winning the Seven Years, for example.
-Kle.

Aren't those warships the LCS? If so I doubt its much of a threat to China, even if it lived up to its original billing. The Marines to Australia is just a move from Okinawa.

Who can imagine at 1970 that 40 years later the US Navy would help to patrol side by side with Vietnam Navy?

Not as strange as it seems.

"You fools! Don't you realize what it means if the Chinese remain? Don't you remember your history? The last time the Chinese came, they stayed a thousand years. The French are foreigners. They are weak. Colonialism is dying. The white man is finished in Asia. But if the Chinese stay now, they will never go. As for me, I prefer to sniff French for five years than to eat Chinese for the rest of my life."

Ho Chi Minh

Yeah, one warship can win a global war. The USS Ohio wouldn't have much trouble winning the Seven Years, for example.

Or anything short of WW3, for that matter.

But aside from strategic assets, one ship generally cannot *win* a war by itself. But it would buy enough time for other ships to arrive and force the issue.

Besides, this is the Straits of Malacca, where the pirates are brave and/or stupid enough to try to take a US submarine (back in the late 1980s/early 1990s).

<In that case, one warship would be basically sufficient to completely block the bottleneck of the Strait of Malacca which at its narrowest point does not exceed 2.8 km (1.5 nautical miles). >

You wouldn't even need a warship. A minelayer could close the straits, as could a few TOW launchers or some field artillery positioned within range of the strait, on either side – providing of course that no one goes in there and clears the mines or shuts down the TOW and artillery sites. The Singapore military would be well up to either task.

Or put the other way, Singapore could close the strait anytime it wanted, anytime it wanted to do massive damage to its own economy that is. They are a staunch US ally with a kick-ass military for their size, but they also enjoy a pretty good relationship with Mainland China and would also need a darn good reason to sign on to shutting down their own economic lifeline.

The littoral combat ships or LCS are scarcely capable of protecting themselves, let alone projecting U.S. power. The're incredibly expensive and poorly armed--at least at this point.

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