In Tailored Coercion, the authors recommend a multifaceted U.S. approach to the East and South China Seas, urging U.S. policymakers to wrestle with difficult questions about how to encourage China to move toward compromise and cooperation in the maritime domain, as well as how to respond should Beijing choose to follow a different path. The report notes that China s military modernization will continue to test the resolve of the United States, its willingness and ability to reassure allies and partners and deter major conflict, particularly in light of U.S. defense budget cuts, and broader questions about the future of America s role in the world.