Chinese Invasion Scenario & Taiwan’s Defense after the 19th Party Congress
Wednesday, December 13, 2017 from 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
EVENT DESCRIPTION
Please join GTI as we host a panel discussion on the military and political dimensions of potential Chinese invasion scenarios of Taiwan, including assessing their likelihood, the forms they will take, and regional security implications. We will consider these issues in light of the recently-concluded 19th Party Congress held by the Chinese Communist Party in October, which provided insights into current PRC thinking about both the Taiwan question and Xi Jinping’s ambitions for the military more generally. We are privileged to be joined by Ian Easton, author of a recent publication on this very topic, “The Chinese Invasion Threat: Taiwan’s Defense and American Strategy in Asia” (The Project 2049 Institute, October 2017). In addition, we are pleased to welcome experts in the field of Taiwan’s defense and the Asia-Pacific region, Michael Chase (RAND), Tiffany Ma (NBR), and Richard Fisher (IASC).
Doors will open at 11:30. A light lunch will be served, and the event will begin at 12:00. Kindly RSVP by December 12. Please direct questions or concerns to abell@globaltaiwan.org.
**Media: Please contact Anna Scott Bell at abell@globaltaiwan.org if you would like to bring additional crew members or equipment, so that we can be sure to accommodate you.
PANELISTS
Michael S. Chase is a senior political scientist at RAND, a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. A specialist in China and Asia-Pacific security issues, he was previously an associate professor at the U.S. Naval War College (NWC) in Newport, Rhode Island, where he served as director of the strategic deterrence group in the Warfare Analysis and Research Department and taught in the Strategy and Policy Department. Prior to joining the faculty at NWC, he was a research analyst at Defense Group Inc. and an associate international policy analyst at RAND. He is the author of the book Taiwan’s Security Policy and numerous chapters and articles on China and Asia-Pacific security issues. His work has appeared in journals such as Asia Policy, Asian Security, China Brief, Survival, and the Journal of Strategic Studies. His current research focuses on Chinese military modernization, China’s nuclear policy and strategy and nuclear force modernization, Taiwan’s defense policy, and Asia-Pacific security issues. Chase holds a PhD in international affairs and MA in China Studies from Johns Hopkins SAIS and a BA in politics from Brandeis University. In addition, he studied Chinese at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center in Nanjing, China.
Ian Easton is a research fellow at the Project 2049 Institute, where he conducts research on defense and security issues in Asia. During the summer of 2013 he was a visiting fellow at the Japan Institute for International Affairs (JIIA) in Tokyo. Previously, Ian worked as a China analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) for two years. Prior to that, he lived in Taipei from 2005 to 2010. During his time in Taiwan, he worked as a translator for Island Technologies Inc. and the Foundation for Asia-Pacific Peace Studies. While in Taiwan, he also conducted research with the Asia Bureau Chief of Defense News. Ian holds an M.A. in China Studies from National Chengchi University in Taiwan and a B.A. in International Studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He also holds a certification in advanced Mandarin Chinese, having formally studied the language at Fudan University in Shanghai, and National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei. Ian’s research has been featured in major media outlets in the United States and Asia. He has testified before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, and lectured at the U.S. Naval War College, Japan’s National Defense Academy, and Taiwan’s National Defense University. Ian is the author of “The Chinese Invasion Threat: Taiwan’s Defense and American Strategy in Asia” (The Project 2049 Institute, October 2017)
Richard D. Fisher, Jr. is a Senior Fellow with the International Assessment and Strategy Center. In 2016 he joined the Advisory Board of the Global Taiwan Institute. He has previously worked with the Center for Security Policy, Jamestown Foundation China Brief, U.S. House of Representatives Republican Policy Committee, and The Heritage Foundation. He is the author of China’s Military Modernization, Building for Regional and Global Reach (Praeger, 2008, Stanford University Press, 2010, Taiwan Ministry of National Defense translation 2012) His articles have been published in the Jane’s Intelligence Review, Jane’s Defence Weekly, Aviation Week and Space Technology, Armed Forces Journal, Far Eastern Economic Review, Asian Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, The Sankei Shimbun, World Airpower Review and Air Forces Monthly. He received a B.A. (Honors) in 1981 from Eisenhower College.
Tiffany Ma is Senior Director of Political and Security Affairs at NBR. Ms. Ma directs program management and project development for the Political and Security Affairs team. In addition, she serves as the Project Lead for several initiatives, including the People’s Liberation Army Conference, U.S.-China Relations in Strategic Domains, Asia Maritime Security, Mapping Pakistan’s Security Dynamics, and Approaching Critical Mass: Asia’s Multipolar Nuclear Future. Prior to joining NBR in 2013, Ms. Ma was a Research Associate at the Project 2049 Institute, an Asia policy think tank in the Washington, D.C., area. She has also worked at the International Crisis Group in Beijing; the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.; and the Refugee Council of Australia in Sydney. Her research interests include Asian security, U.S.-China and cross-strait relations, and the Arctic. Ms. Ma holds an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School, where she was also a Public Service Fellow and a Belfer International and Global Affairs Student Fellow.