Sun Quan had very strong commitments of protecting his land, conquering all invading adversaries, and ascending to the throne of his glorious county, but he had no desire to unite and conquer the entire empire. To keep adversaries from reaching his security heart, he used natural fences, water, mountains, and forests. Sun Quan regarded Wu (Riverland) as his ancestral homeland, which he has occupied for many generations, just as China regards Asian countries as the tributary state of Chinese domination. China’s fundamental policy is Sun Quan’s ideology, which states that in order for China to become a world power, it must first rule Asia, create a fence to keep the enemy out. China’s security is at its core. To prevent any threat and expand its powers, China has established the Anti-Access or Denial Area. The fate of China is determined by these locations, such as mountains and rivers determined Sun Quan’s. Liu Bei brought 700, 000 men to invade Wu, then it was the Wu that used the natural fences to destroy all the men.
For thousands of years, China has been a superpower on the continent. More importantly, China is now Asia’s largest food and energy consumer. Beijing has no Asian competitor who can compete with it. Japan is a small country in the middle of the island that relies on imports of natural resources and raw materials from others. Even it is an industrialized, civilized, and high-tech country, the military is still limited. It can only be regarded as Asia’s second-largest power. Russia is only strong in armaments but lacks the economic and geographical resources to penetrate Central Asia, Southeast Asia, or East Asia, and is besieged by Europe and the Islamic State in the Middle East; therefore it has no much influence in Asia. India is a country with a long history of civilization and geopolitical potential, but it should be ranked only third in Asia because its central government cannot effectively manage whole national affairs, the majority of its citizens live in poverty and unable to integrate due to class and religious divisions, the spread of corruption, and so on. Despite the fact that ASEAN is a regional organization with a significant geographical and economic function, these countries cannot avoid China’s economic impact and ambitions. The issue for China is how to maintain the healthy relations with Asian countries so that they do not join in calling external powers against it.
Sun Quan partnered with Liu Bei, who was then a weaker leader, in order to maintain his dominance in the region and to confront and oust Cao Cao. China has attempted to lead Asia economically, militarily, and politically while also reducing Western influence. President Xi Jinping has employed a severe iron fist approach to eradicating corruption in China’s domestic politics despite sparking the criticism that it is a strategy to beat opponents, it is the establishment of a clean Communist Party capable of growing the people and the nation, as well as satisfying and acceptable to the people. Furthermore, China believes that by implementing this policy, it will set an example for other Asian countries to follow. Against the United States, China’s military and security forces have sought to promote security cooperation in Asia through the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. China, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and a number of other nations are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). China has given member countries billions of dollars in loans. Xi Jinping did not stop there; he also took the initiative to form a new security system that would bring all Asian countries together. “It is Asia’s responsibility to take over Asia’s affairs, address Asian affairs, and preserve Asia’s security,” Xi Jinping declared in 2014.
On the economic battlefield, China has surpassed the United States as the world’s largest commercial and trade partner, and it is attempting to expand its influence in order to limit the size and scope of Western competition. To improve regional collaboration and boost its economic power, China launched the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in 2016. China considers Asia to be the continent with the greatest infrastructure needs. In contrast to Western-backed financial organizations that only allow poor countries to engage in minimal global economic policy, AIIB provides a wide range of possibilities for its members. In this regard, China hopes that other nations will recognize the economic and financial injustices that have been initiated by the West. The AIIB is a key military leader, leading over 100 member countries in economic and financial battlefields against the World Bank of the United States and the Asian Development Bank of Japan, among many others.
To defeat Cao Cao and Liu Bei’s armies, Sun Quan used rivers and woodlands. Sun Quan and Liu Bei’s allies burned over one million Cao Cao’s soldiers, including the warships, at the Red Cliff Revere, relying on the natural advantages. The Allies disbanded once Sun and Liu became adversaries, and a brutal war ensued. To completely destroy Wu, Liu led a force of about 700,000 warriors. Wu, on the other hand, took advantage of the mountains’ geology to burn the Liu Bei’s army to ashes once again. In the eyes of China, the US is a distant leader, occupying and controlling its territorial waters and airspace from the first island chain to the surrounding Chinese borders. This is a very dangerous threat. The US enters into Chinese buffer zones. Yan Xuetong, one of China’s top strategists and one of the top 100 strategists in the world according to the American press, urged the Chinese regime that “China must not believe in international laws and systems to safeguard peace. The country must rely on expanding its military to preserve its own security.” The country, according to Ye Zicheng, must be ready to defend itself in the event of an attack. “China has been invaded by sea more than 100 times since 1842, causing immense agony and ruin to the country. Therefore, China must be ready to defend the waterway as a territorial defense and expel hostile soldiers from Chinese sovereign territories.”
Another top general, Peng Guangqian said that China’s main purpose was to limit the level of enemy influence in China’s security zones. “We must be very careful at all times to expand our sphere of influence, try to limit the Western politicization that is being tried to threat China.” China regards US activities the attempt to encircle and prevent China from growing. They even forecast that if war breaks out, it will be a high-tech conflict alongside the borders and seas. They also feel that China may have to go to battle against a high-tech country like the US to keep its sphere of influence.
China has devised a strategy to keep American troops out of its zone of influence which is called A2 / AD (Anti-Access / Area Denial). China has been working on a weapon system, focusing on long- and medium-range missiles for use against warships, aircraft carriers, submarines, and other warships. China’s goal is to counter and combat the presence of US ships on the western Pacific’s First and Second Islands. Simultaneously, China has created aircraft carriers, battleships, submarines, reconnaissance ships, and communications equipment in order to exert control over the US Navy in these areas.
China has historically been a superpower in Asia. Until now, China still thinks it is the most powerful and largest in Asia. Perhaps due to historical factors and the current situation urge China to build its hegemonic position in Asia. Chinese commanders all believed that if there will be a naval war with the United States, China would win, even if the US military technology capabilities are stronger than China. Both China and the United States believe that large-scale wars leading to the use of nuclear weapons may not be possible, but wars for supremacy may be possible. China, like Sun Quan, is concentrating on erecting walls and fences to safeguard its sovereignty. China, unlike Sun Quan, recognizes the historical lessons of Sun Quan’s failure since he had no desire to increase his power. China could win if it could just push its ships further and gain control of major seaports such as the South China Sea, Taiwan, and the South Pacific, and establish a network that stretches from the South China Sea to the Gulf of India, the Persian Sea, and all the way to Africa. By land, China is no different than other major powers, which recognize that the finest security zones are found in smaller countries connected borders, rather than in their own country.
