The Free World’s Response to a Sino-Taiwanese War, with LCDR Chris D. Glass

LCDR Chris D. Glass ('18), Lead Analyst for the Kennedy Maritime Analysis Center’s Fleet Operations Integration Division at ONI, discussed "The Free World’s Response to a Sino-Taiwanese War" at The Institute of World Politics on April 2, 2023. This event is part of IWP's China Lecture Series. About the Lecture: In the aftermath of the calamitous withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, America’s authoritarian rivals increasingly discerned an upset to the global order. Furthermore, recent years of nationalistic and quasi-isolationist rhetoric, an ongoing economic downtown, and a global pandemic have exacerbated the international perception of America’s decline. These factors likely contributed to Russia’s seemingly miscalculated invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and are very likely impacting the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) own strategic assessments regarding a forceful reunification with Taiwan. This has been evidenced by the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) increasingly bellicose rhetoric in addition to nascent civil-military fusion between the Chinese military and state-owned enterprises (SOE); the latter of which could potentially enable the PRC to advance its timeline for an invasion of Taiwan. In response to this evolving threat, it is incumbent on the U.S., coalition partners, and the free world to consider a range of options to deter Beijing during the current competition phase; de-escalate, demonstrate substantial cost, and force the CCP to recalculate in the window of a crisis; and should such a crisis escalate to a Sino-Taiwanese conflict, execute operations to aid Taiwan. About the Speaker: As a Navy civilian at ONI, Mr. Glass previously worked as an all-source intelligence analyst with the Global Maritime Environment Division’s Transnational Threat Department providing fleet and national decision-makers with in-depth knowledge of the maritime domain in USINDOPACOM and USSOUTHCOM. Mr. Glass presently runs a large and growing team of U.S. Naval officers, enlisted, and civilians as the