Strategy and Airpower in the East and South China Sea

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

While the volume emphasises the role of the U.S. 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 sections of the book focus on the People’s Republic of China and the United States, with each section 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 section looks at the most dominant regional powers with significant airpower capabilities: Taiwan, Japan, South-Korea and Australia. Finally, the fourth section examines influential alliances in the region; first the relation between Russia, China and North-Korea (DPRK), then NATO, and finally The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or The Quad, including Australia, India, Japan, and the United States. 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.

Dag Henriksen is a Lt Col at the Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy. He is a Professor in military studies, and has a PhD from the University of Glasgow, UK. He has a PhD in military studies from the University of Glasgow, UK. He has published NATO's Gamble: Combining Diplomacy and Airpower in the Kosovo Crisis, 1998-1999 (2007); Airpower in Afghanistan 2005-2010. The Air Commanders' Perspectives (2013); Political Rationale and International Consequences of the War in Libya (2016); The Air War in Ukraine – The First Year of Conflict (Routledge, 2024).

Nina M. Bjørge is an assistant professor at the Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy. She has a master's degree in political science from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) with a specialization in Norwegian foreign policy and international political economy. She has published on hybrid threats and warfare and on media representations of the Ukraine war, focusing on strategic narratives and media practices across traditional and digital platforms.

Mari G. Bårdsen is an assistant professor at the Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy. She holds a master’s degree in political science from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), with specialization in international relations and advanced statistical data analysis.