S8 Ep336: HEADLINE: The Western Pacific as the New Inner German Border GUEST AUTHOR: Jerry Hendrix SUMMARY: Captain Jerry Hendrix argues that the Western Pacific has replaced the Cold War's "Inner German Border" as the primary geography of global ideological and mi
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
4.5 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 19 January 2026
⏱️ 11 minutes
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Summary
SUMMARY: Captain Jerry Hendrix argues that the Western Pacific has replaced the Cold War's "Inner German Border" as the primary geography of global ideological and military competition. He traces the concept of the "Free Sea" back to Hugo Grotius’s 1609 legal arguments, which established that the ocean cannot be owned like land—a principle that became foundational to the Enlightenment and modern global trade. Hendrix asserts that American naval primacy since 1945 has been essential in upholding this system, ensuring unencumbered commerce and significantly reducing global poverty, a status quo now under threat.
1911 USS MAINE, HAVANA HARBOR
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| 0:46.8 | I'm John Bachelor. |
| 0:52.1 | This is the New John Bachelor show, represented by CBS News Radio, and it's a great pleasure to welcome my longtime colleague, friend, and informant of matters to do with the United States Navy, Captain Jerry Hendricks, U.S. Navy Aviator Retired, who is the author of a new book to provide and maintain a Navy, subtitle, Why Naval Primacy is America's first best strategy. Jerry, congratulations for the book, |
| 1:15.3 | and we begin with our conversation with threat. You have asked, and the 65th Secretary of the Navy |
| 1:22.9 | John Lehman has generously remarked upon your book as a foreword. And in it, Mr. Lehman uses this |
| 1:30.2 | historical analogy to explain the present challenge for the U.S. Navy to do with the Pacific Ocean. |
| 1:38.2 | He says that it is wise to think of the Western Pacific, that would be East Asia, that would be the |
| 1:43.7 | People's Republic of China, the Western Pacific, that would be East Asia, that would be the People's Republic of China, |
| 1:45.5 | the Western Pacific as the inner German border, referring to the 20th century. |
| 1:51.8 | What does that mean, Jerry? |
| 1:53.2 | How does that explain the threat and the challenge for the U.S. Navy in the 21st century? |
| 1:58.1 | Good evening to you. |
| 1:59.6 | Good evening, John. |
| 2:00.5 | And thank you again for having me on. It's great to join you in your 21st century. Good evening to you. Good evening, John. And thank you again for having me on. |
| 2:02.5 | It's great to join you in your new venue here. I think what Secretary Lehman is talking about there |
| 2:08.5 | and as he contextualizes within his, as you said, very, very kind forward to the book, is he's talking |
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