Expert Bio

Lea Thome is an international security scholar, with a special focus on China issues. She holds a bachelor‘s degree in Political Science and International Relations with a minor in Chinese from the University of Rochester and has also been named a Schwarzman Scholar, graduating with a master‘s degree in Global Affairs from Tsinghua University. Originally hailing from Germany, she has dedicated her research to studying issues of security and defense, particularly in the field of military and great power competition. 

Expertise

• Security and Defense
• U.S. Foreign Policy

Wilson Center Project

China’s increasing military capabilities: tracking China’s naval expansion and its impact on U.S.-China relations

Project Summary

The United States has been the military superpower since World War II. In contrast, China has only one international military base located in Djibouti. Having published a position paper on its Global Security Initiative in February 2023, the Chinese government has committed itself to resolving disputes between countries through dialogue and promoting common, cooperative, and sustainable security. However, despite its goals for security, the Chinese government has begun drastically investing into military expansion and naval capabilities in recent years in its neighborhood. Beyond its only international base in Djibouti, it appears that China has been expanding facilities to Cambodia, used the Sri Lanka port Hambantota for docking a military ship, and has been working on extending capacity to Pacific Islands like Vanuatu and Kiribati, slowly inching closer to U.S. territory. This research project serves to understand the strategic interests of China‘s military expansion and its impact on U.S.-China relations.