Lessons of the Cuban Missile Crisis for Nuclear Crisis Management and Their Implications for U.S.-Chinese Relations

In December 2006, Chinese President Hu Jintao called for the building of a strong, modern navy. Hu declared that Chinese territory included “a large sea area,” and stressed that a powerful navy was “of vital importance in defending state interests and safeguarding national sovereignty and security.“2 Hu no doubt had in mind China’s persistent territorial disputes with its neighbors over the Spratlys and Paracels, and with Japan over the Senkaku/Diaoyutai Islands; but by far and away China’s most pressing “territorial” dispute is over the status of Taiwan. Beijing evidently thinks its hand would be strengthened in a possible future confrontation with Taipei and Washington if it wielded greater maritime power.