Competitive Strategies for the 21st CenturyThe U. S. today faces the most complex and challenging security environment in recent memory even as it deals with growing constraints on its ability to respond to threats. Its most consequential challenge is the rise of China, which increasingly has the capability to deny the U. S. access to areas of vital national interest and to undermine alliances that have underpinned regional stability for over half a century. Thus, the time is right for the U.