Join us on the U.S. Naval History Podcast as we explore the lesser-known

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On 29 July 1967, the USS Forrestal experienced a severe fire while operating on Yankee Station off the coast of North Vietnam that killed 134 Sailors, injured 161 more, and destroyed 21 aircraft. This was (and remains) the second worst loss of life on a U.S. Navy ship since World War II. The disaster resulted in a very long list of lessons learned -many of which can be better classified as “lessons forgotten” from carrier fires during World War II. This time, there was a very intentional institutional effort to cement these lessons into the Navy’s damage control psyche, training, and procedures which transformed the U.S. Navy’s approach to firefighting, damage control, and ordnance handling in the 50 years since the Forrestal disaster.

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In this episode I answer a few questions that someone sent me via email on the concept of "unsinkable aircraft carriers" in the context of both WWII and China's artificial islands in the South China Sea. I elaborate on the parallels with WWII, explore how Japan's strategy of using islands as unsinkable carriers ultimately failed due to logistical challenges and limited plane production, and how that will differ from a US-China war.

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RADM Mike Studeman, the the Commander of the Office of Naval Intelligence and the Director of the National Maritime Intelligence Integration Office talks about China’s grand plan for the South China Sea, Xi Jinping and the psychology of authoritarian states, how the Chinese military may have been the tail wagging the dog in China’s recent border skirmishes with India, who would/would not side with the United States in a fight over Taiwan, the consequences for China if they do invade Taiwan, and a whole lot more.

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In this episode of the US Naval History podcast's South China Sea miniseries, we delve into the Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs) and China's illegal maritime claims. I dissect the misleading claims made by the China Global Television Network and explore the significance of different maritime features, such as islands, rocks, and low tide elevations, and the rights they grant to countries under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Discover why China's artificial islands fail to establish legal entitlements and how FONOPs aim to uphold international maritime rules.

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What force wears uniforms, has their boats built by the government, are paid by the government, and attacks an enemy's boats and ships? No...not the Navy. We're talking about China's Maritime Militia in the South China Sea. The maritime militia is inextricably aligned with Xi Jinping's rise to power and assertion of China's "rights" to all of the territory inside of the nine dashed lines. Pushing back against the maritime militia (technically "innocent fishermen") has been a ige challenge for the United States and every other country in the region over the past 30 years. This is the story of the rise of China's maritime militia, and other gray zone tactics in the South China Sea. Enjoy.

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The South China Sea is home to numerous disputed islands, reefs, and shoals, which have been the subject of territorial claims and military standoffs between China and its neighboring countries, including Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Malaysia. In this episode, we will delve into the complex history of the South China Sea conflict, exploring its origins, key events, and the current state of affairs, as well as the geopolitical and economic implications of this ongoing dispute.

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This is an breaking news podcast episode giving my brief thoughts and fears about the news that China will begin to inspect ships in Taiwan Strait. Taiwan says won't cooperate as this would be a major sovereignty violation. This has ling been my feared most-likely scenario for the beginnings of a US/China hot war over the Taiwan Strait. I really hope this is not the start of something hot, but looking back in 100 years, this may be noted as the day things started to go really off the rails for Cold War 2.0, if we're even lucky enough to call it a Cold War.

Link to Reuters article:

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/china-inspect-ships-taiwan-strait-taiwan-says-wont-cooperate-2023-04-06/

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In  this episode I talk with Rear Admiral Terry McKnight about his time combating Somali piracy off the Gulf of Aden. Admiral McKnight was the first commander of CTF 151, the multinational naval task force set up to combat the threat of piracy for the first time since almost two centuries. We talk about the causes of piracy in Somalia, the strategies used to combat it, international politics surrounding the effort, a few spectacular heists, and new emerging pirate threats around the world.   

RADM McKnight's book, Pirate Alley: https://www.amazon.com/Pirate-Alley-Commanding-Force-Somalia/dp/1612511341

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I have gotten a few questions which amount to "what will happen if China invades Taiwan?" and this is my attempt at an answer. It's obviously a lot of guesswork, but I think that it is fair to say that a massive worldwide economic and geopolitical upheaval is likely. Supply chains will be massively disrupted and a deep recession or even Great Depression 2.0 are likely outcomes. If China does manage to take Taiwan, they will probably face a insurgency that I'm sure the US government will be happy to help along, in addition to dealing with massive sanctions. 

The second half of the episode is a guest post by the excellent podcast ChinaTalk. The episode talks with Michael  O'Hanlon, a senior fellow and director of research at Brookings where  specializes in U.S. defense strategy, the use of military force, and  American national security policy about: 

The limits of scenarios that predict the outcome of a China-Taiwan conflict.

What are intercontinental rail guns?

How sports teams that play each other in the same year can have different outcomes - and what this says about predictability.

Given all this, what’s the point of modelling exercises?

Go subscribe to ChinaTalk if you have not already, it's a great podcast for anyone interested in Chinese-American relations. 

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