S8 Ep336: HEADLINE: The Cannonball Rule vs. Anti-Access Denial GUEST AUTHOR: Jerry Hendrix SUMMARY: Hendrix explains how the historical "cannonball rule," which limited territorial waters to the range of shore batteries, is being challenged by modern long-range mis
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
4.5 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 19 January 2026
⏱️ 10 minutes
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Summary
SUMMARY: Hendrix explains how the historical "cannonball rule," which limited territorial waters to the range of shore batteries, is being challenged by modern long-range missiles. Nations like China and Russia use "anti-access/area denial" strategies to extend their sovereignty far beyond international norms, effectively claiming vast areas like the South China Sea. This strategy aims to push the U.S. Navy away to prevent intervention in regional conflicts. Hendrix emphasizes the necessity of "Freedom of Navigation" operations, where U.S. warships physically sail through disputed waters to legally and militarily reject these excessive territorial claims.
1904
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| 0:34.4 | with Indeed. do it the right way with indeed i'm john bachelor this is the new john bachelor show my colleague |
| 0:50.2 | captain jerry hendricks is the author captain j Jerry Hendricks, of a new book, |
| 0:55.0 | To Provide and Maintain a Navy, why Naval Primacy is America's First Best Strategy. |
| 1:01.5 | Jerry's now outlined the last 400 years since a philosopher attorney, Grotius, |
| 1:07.8 | very carefully constructed what we understand as a free sea, a free ocean, for commerce, for prosperity, for people of the earth to grow rich and happy and watch their grandchildren prosper. |
| 1:20.0 | However, there have been caveats in between that are pertinent to here in the 21st century about operating close to land or near enough to land |
| 1:31.6 | so that the issue is what is the territory, what is the claim of the sea of the territory, |
| 1:39.9 | and how far out does it go, and what can you do about people who may or may not challenge your claim? |
| 1:47.5 | Jerry, what is the cannonball rule that developed in these last 400 years? |
| 1:52.5 | Well, that's a great question, and it's one of the most interesting historical questions, |
| 1:57.2 | but it has dramatic implications for us in the world today. |
| 2:02.1 | So at the time that Hugo Grotius was making his claim of the Free Sea, there were a number of entities, including the |
| 2:07.2 | British and even some voices within the Dutch body politic that said, no, no, we don't want |
| 2:14.4 | a free sea. In fact, we want to extend territorial claims over large |
| 2:18.7 | portions of the oceans so that we can control them almost as if they were territory. But the |
| 2:25.0 | pushback was that you cannot really control, you cannot claim what you cannot control. So there |
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