The United States is entering a new era of great-power competition with China. In this era of competition, the United States is working to acquire the high-end weaponry that is necessary to deter China from pursuing kinetic conflict. However, the U.S. Department of Defense faces an immediate challenge: the gray zone, a space between peace and war in which China operates to achieve its political objectives. Using brute force tactics, such as island building, ship ramming, and water cannons, China seeks to control the South China Sea and East China Sea to undermine regional political autonomy and U.S. security commitments.

This report aims to provide U.S. decisionmakers and a general audience with an understanding of the types of actions that countries in the region are taking to counter China's gray-zone efforts, the associated challenges, and their limitations. The countries of Southeast and East Asia — particularly Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam — are the primary targets of China's gray-zone actions; therefore, these countries will be the key drivers in executing a broader counter-China gray-zone strategy. In this report, the authors intend to provide U.S. decisionmakers with the necessary background information to synchronize U.S. responses in support of enabling regional responses.