A evolução da estratégia naval da China nos últimos quarentas anos: lições para a Marinha do Brasil

Abstract

History has shown that states that have exploited the sea in all its attributes have achieved positions of power and prosperity. Over time, this concept has expanded beyond what is done in the oceans to what can be done from it. In the dimension of the Naval Strategy, scholars have broadened the scope of their theories, expanding the idea of conflict at sea to the possibility of fighting for the sea China, in spite of its millennial history of continental nation and its political weight in the second half of the twentieth century (mainly due to nuclear capacity), has only emerged economically as a global actor in the last forty years, making a true “shift towards sea ”, characterized by the development of Maritime Power and Naval Power. China's Naval Strategy has been shaped and adapted in stages according to the size of the economy and the geographical extent of the interests to be protected, expressed in the form of their desired effects, nature of operations, and geographical reach, allowing Chinese society to perceive what was being offered. Brazil and China have significant similarities regarding the influence and relationship of their continentality and maritimity. Due to their distinct time and circumstances, they concentrated both the coastal strip and maritime jurisdictional waters for most of the population, their main economic and financial assets and vital critical structures (energy, plant, refinery etc.), in addition to the main system that connects them commercially to the rest of the world (ports, terminals, shipyards, submarine communication cables, sea lanes etc.). Their society and political power, for different reasons, remained for a long time unaware of the possibilities of harnessing the seas in favor of the expressions of national power. Brazil has a vital economic and structural dependence on the oceans, and these constitute a national vulnerability that in itself justifies defense planning and investment. Although much has already been done at sea, there is still room to turn it into important development opportunities. However, these findings are not in the perception of Brazilian society and, consequently, of the Political Power. Regarding the Brazilian Naval Strategy, the research pointed to the importance of prioritizing maritime strategic objectives accompanied by the definition of the actions to be taken on each one of them, including explaining how the other Armed Forces would contribute to the effort, jointly. The strategy would be established in stages, facilitating the definition of the military technological capabilities to be achieved and the optimization of the use of historically limited budgetary resources. It is also important that this strategy be explained by its desired effects, in order to facilitate the understanding by society and the gradual perception of the value of integrating, also, the defense sector in the national development strategy. Thus, the research allowed us to deduce useful lessons from the Brazilian Navy, based on the evolution of the China Naval Strategy