China and the United States. Strategy and Airpower in the East and South China Sea

This is a book about strategy and airpower in the East and South China Sea. It is but one perspective on the complex dynamics that will unfold if the Damocles’ sword falls on the Taiwan Strait. What do we really know about Chinese airpower? Its ability to think strategically, its operational planning capacity, and its tactical competence? What is their command-and-control capabilities, its doctrines, and its ability to coordinate and perform Multi-Domain Operations? 

Public information about the U.S. military and the U.S. Air Force modus operandi is far more voluminous and accessible, but how is it going to be apportioned, structured and orchestrated in this scenario? 

Furthermore, other regional partners are significantly strengthening their airpower capabilities. By 2035, there will reportedly be more than 300 F-35s in the Indo-Pacific, including F-35s from the U.S., Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Singapore. What is their strategic outlook, capabilities, and ability to join allied partners in complex Multi-Domain Operations in what would likely be a very hostile and complicated military environment? 

The dynamics in the East and South China Sea extends far beyond this region. For instance, our own country, a small NATO nation like Norway, is closely monitoring the situation in the Indo-Pacific, making interests-based decisions together with its allies and partners. In 2025, Norway will join a military exercise outside of Australia (“Talisman Sabre”) with special forces, a frigate, and military aircraft. The Norwegian Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace will build facilities in Australia to produce long range precision missiles like the Joint Strike Missile (JSM) and Naval Strike Missile (NSM), and Norway is opening a defence attaché office in Japan in 2026. The Norwegian Minister of Defense explains that the rationale for these decisions is that the security situation in the Indo-Pacific and the Euro-Atlantic regions have become more interconnected. He notes that Russia has proven its willingness to attack neighboring nations, like Ukraine, a war that is directly and indirectly supported by China and North Korea. Norway needs more knowledge on Asia, it shares interests and values with open liberal democracies and is therefore strengthening its ties to NATOs partner nations in the region. It is in Norway’s security interest to join allied partners like the U.S. and the UK in exercises and international cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.

If Chinese technology and North Korean troops and artillery shells are intimately involved in the Russo-Ukrainian War by 2024, surely military manned and unmanned aircraft, ground-based air-defense systems, long-range precision fire systems, and systems operating in various domains from this region can significantly influence the Euro-Atlantic region on very short notice in the future. 

The ultimate ambition for this book is to be better informed about the strategic dynamics in the region, why the various actors behave the way they do, what their airpower capabilities are, and what to expect with regards to the use of airpower should a worst-case scenario unfold. 

The ambition is to publish this book at Routledge by summer / fall 2026

Editors for this project is Lt Col / professor Dag Henriksen, Assistant professor Nina M. Bjørge and Assistant professor Mari G. Bårdsen (all three works at the Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy).