Strategy and Airpower in the East and South China Seas

In this episode of Books to Battles, Dr. Wendy Whitman Cobb and Col. Cory Hollon welcome Dr. Jared McKinney, Dr. Chris Colley, and Col. James Day to discuss their contributions to Strategy and Airpower in the East and South China Sea. Colley examines the gap between the announced U.S. pivot to Asia and changes in military force posture, including its effects on Chinese perceptions. McKinney explores alternative U.S. responses to a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, including support short of direct war and scenarios in which Chinese actions could draw the United States into conflict. Day and Hollon discuss how airpower and joint all-domain operations could strengthen deterrence through survivability, flexibility, and temporary operational advantages. The discussion tests strategic ambitions against operational realities while asking whether Americans adequately understand the Chinese calculations they hope to influence.

If you have questions, comments, or episode recommendations, please email us at bookstobattles@au.af.edu

Books Mentioned

Michael A. Hunzeker and Mark A. Christopher, America’s Taiwan Dilemma: Allies’ Reactions and the Stakes for US Reputation (Cambria Press, 2025).

Jared McKinney, ed., Closing the Deterrence Gap in the Taiwan Straits (Air University Press, 2026, projected).

Jessica Chen Weiss, What China Wants: And What It Means for the World (Oxford University Press, 2027).

Henry Kissinger, On China (Penguin Books, 2012).

Amos C. Fox and Franz-Stefan Gady, eds., Multidomain Operations: The Pursuit of Battlefield Dominance in the 21st Century (Howgate Publishing Limited, 2026).

Robert Jervis, Perception and Misperception in International Politics (Princeton University Press).

X. “The Sources of Soviet Conduct.” Foreign Affairs 25, no. 4 (1947): 566–82.

The opinions expressed here are those of the hosts or the guests and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Department of the Air Force, the Department of Defense or War, or the United States Government.