Those who speculate on the course of future events have given much attention to the role that China's navy might play as a future rival to American naval power in the distant reaches of the new century. Some popular attention has been given to the idea that China, a country with the world's largest population and a rapidly growing economy and military, will soon put the next superpower navy to sea. Bernard Cole, a retired naval officer, now a dean and professor of international history at the National War College, presents quite a different picture.