Similarly, today’s strategy should also focus on enabling the flow of combat capability to key regions like Taiwan and the South China Sea rather than focusing on symbolic action like freedom of navigation operations. The former tends to influence the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) calculation and thus prevent Chinese aggression, whereas the latter does not.

This highlights the third implication of realist maritime strategy: divestment. The U.S. Navy should divest from missions and commitments that fail to serve its strategic goals or detract from them. Protecting sea lanes is one such mission, especially when it entails providing security services for ships flagged under nations that are friendly to U.S. adversaries. Embracing realism means the Navy should not be afraid of clearly stating its priorities based on the nation’s interests. U.S. strategic documents cite China and Russia as the nation’s “pacing challenge” and “acute threat,” respectively. Therefore, the Navy should not hesitate to divest from mission sets that do not contribute to deterring them.

The Navy’s “Get Real Get Better” program, championed during former CNO Michael Gilday’s tenure, underscores the central idea that embracing problems and calling them what they are is essential to fixing them. This is realism in action. Yet, the Navy has yet to fully integrate realist principles into developing its strategy amid today’s world of strategic competition. Until it does so and lets go of the liberal ideas of the post-Cold War order, it will continue to be the object of criticism.

While realism may be politically unpalatable or inappropriate as a guide for the entirety of U.S. foreign policy, its principles are more relevant than ever in today’s maritime environment. Maritime strategists and planners should embrace them. The sooner they accept the case for maritime realism, the sooner the Navy will be better equipped for tomorrow’s challenges.

Lieutenant Commander Aaron Marchant is an active-duty submarine officer in the U.S. Navy and a graduate of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. The views in this article are his own and do not reflect those of the Department of Defense. Follow him on X at @AaronCMarchant1.

Image: Shutterstock.com.