Strategy and Airpower in the East and South China Sea

China, the United States, and Great Power Rivalry

Dag Henriksen, Nina M. Bjørge, Mari G. Bårdsen

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2026
• Print ISBN:
  9781041157748
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781040750704
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Asian History
• Index: Politics & International Relations

This book examines the role of airpower in the great power rivalry between the United States (US) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the East and South China Sea over Taiwan.

While the volume emphasizes the role of the US and the PRC, it also looks at the other regional powers with significant airpower capabilities. By including key actors heavily invested in the regional dynamics between the two great powers, this book offers new research on how each actor views the use of airpower to enhance its regional political, military strategic, and operational leverage. The first two parts of the book focus on the PRC and the US, with each part considering (i) their grand strategy in the region, (ii) their military strategy to handle a future conflict over Taiwan, (iii) the role of airpower to this end, and finally (iv) their approach to Multi-Domain Operations or Joint All-Domain Operations. The third part looks at the most dominant regional powers with significant airpower capabilities: Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Australia. Finally, the fourth part examines influential alliances in the region: first the relation between Russia, China, and North Korea (DPRK); then NATO and finally The Quad, including Australia, India, Japan, and the US. The volume will help readers better understand the complex and dynamic strategic and military context of this region, and how airpower can be used to enhance the political, military strategic and operational leverage of the various actors in the East and South China Sea.

This book will be of much interest to students of strategic studies, air power, Asian politics, and International Relations.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title
• Series
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Figure and Tables
• List of Maps
• List of Contributors
• List of Abbreviations
• Introduction
• Part I China
• 1 China’s Grand Strategy: Impose U.S. Retrenchment
• 2 China’s Military Strategy and the Enduring Taiwan Conundrum
• 3 China’s Airpower: Strategy, Capabilities and Ambitions
• 4 Chinese PLA Multi-Domain Operations: Cross-Domain Operations, All-Domain Operations, and Kill Chains
• Part II The United States
• 5 The Elusiveness of the Pivot: The Evolution of America’s Indo-Pacific Strategy in the 21st Century and the Sino–U.S. Strategic Rivalry
• 6 U.S. Military Strategy: Three Scenarios for a Chinese Invasion of Taiwan
• 7 U.S. Airpower: Strategy, Capabilities, and Ambitions
• 8 U.S. Joint All-Domain Operations in the East and South China Sea: Strengths and Weaknesses
• Part III Regional Actors
• 9 Taiwan’s Strategy to Handle Confrontation with China
• 10 Japan and the Regional Dynamics in the East and South China Seas
• 11 South Korean Airpower: The Republic of Korea Air Force in a Hostile Neighbourhood
• 12 Australia and the Regional Dynamics in the South and East China Seas
• Part IV Alliances
• 13 War-Driven Russia–DPRK Strategic Convergence: Regional Implications and China’s Response
• 14 NATO’s Emerging Approach to the Indo-Pacific: Strategic Drivers, Divisions, and Partnerships
• 15 The Quad: A strategic minilateral in search of an enduring role
• Epilogue: Strategy and Airpower in the East and South China Seas: A Multi-Domain Imperative
• Index