logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2023
1h 9m

War in Taiwan: Who Would Win?

JORDAN SCHNEIDER
About this episode

China v Taiwan: who would win? Michael O'Hanlon, a senior fellow and director of research at Brookings. He specializes in U.S. defense strategy, the use of military force, and American national security policy.

We discuss

  • 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?


Mike's paper: https://www.brookings.edu/research/can-china-take-taiwan-why-no-one-really-knows/

My paper: https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/E2BghQq9pwPgtHgiH/war-between-the-us-and-china-a-case-study-for-epistemic

Outro music: Battle Cry of Freedom by George Root https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW4ZwyYJYbQ

Check out the Substack at ChinaTalk.media!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Up next
Yesterday
Overfit: AI and Media, America's Deepseek, Plots
Nathan Lambert (https://www.interconnects.ai/), Jasmine Sun (https://jasmi.news/) and I kick off a new series 'Overfit' to talk how AI is shaping the future of media, why Nathan just needs $100m to take on Deepseek, and how to make money in this creator economy. Outtro music: Tod ... Show More
1h 18m
Jul 7
China's Best Music of 2025 (So Far)
Jake Newby, author of the China music substack Concrete Avalanche, presents his official playlist of China’s best new music. It includes ADHD-inspired hip hop, experimental ambient music from rural China, and Shanghai cold wave, finishing off with a “mind-blowing” hyperpop track. ... Show More
1h 1m
Jul 2
Wagner, Two Years On (Kamil on Coups and Power)
How does Russia prevent uprisings, and what can other authoritarians learn from Moscow’s methods of coup control? For the second anniversary of the Wagner uprising, ChinaTalk interviewed London-based historian Kamil Galeev, who was also a classmate of Jordan’s at Peking Universit ... Show More
40m 23s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2024
Why China Can’t Blockade Taiwan
Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Ivan Kanapathy, a former US military attache to Taiwan, about the looming threat of Chinese invasion and why a Chinese blockade or quarantine of Taiwan is unlikely to succeed. They discuss the implications of the recent Taiwan elections on the island ... Show More
53m 50s
Aug 2022
Will the US and China go to war over Taiwan?
A recent visit to Taiwan by Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, has heightened tensions between the US and China. Their relationship is the worst it’s been in decades. America has accused China of dangerous military provocations in the region. China has warn ... Show More
22m 58s
Apr 2024
High stakes in the strait: US -China competition and Taiwan’s future
Taiwan has come to represent a strategic flashpoint in US-China relations. As Beijing ramps up its political and military pressure on Taipei, any escalation could trigger a major conflict between the two powers. Unlike Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China may have to reckon with d ... Show More
35m 28s
Jul 2023
Taiwan, China, and the Threat of War
A small island one hundred miles off the coast of China could be the flashpoint that determines the future of great-power competition. Experts increasingly warn that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would be globally catastrophic, regardless of its success or if the United States int ... Show More
36m 8s
Jan 2023
Debating the Defense of Taiwan
Chris, Melanie, and Zack discuss whether it is possible, and wise, to try to stave off a conflict with China over Taiwan — possibly for a very long time. A recent article by Jude Blanchette and Ryan Hass urges policymakers to find ways to forestall conflict. But is it a mistake t ... Show More
1h 1m
Sep 2023
How Taiwan Is Learning From Ukraine
Taiwan has long lived under the shadow of China’s desire to take over its territory. And as China’s economy and military have grown, so too has the threat of a potential invasion. What is Taipei’s strategy for defense and security, and how is it marshaling support from other coun ... Show More
45m 26s
Jan 2024
Drum Tower: Taiwan goes to the polls
China is watching Taiwan’s next presidential race closely. The results will influence Xi Jinping’s next steps when it comes to resolving the “Taiwan question”.  Ahead of the vote on January 13th, Alice Su, our senior China correspondent, goes to campaign rallies of the 3 parties ... Show More
43m 39s
Jan 2024
Taiwan après les élections : la guerre ? Avec Valérie Niquet | Entretiens géopo
Les élections présidentielles - et législatives - taiwanaises se sont tenues le 13 janvier 2024 dernier. Elles ont été marquées par la victoire de Lai Ching-te (également connu sous le nom de William Lai), ancien vice-président de la République de Chine et candidat du parti démoc ... Show More
25m 27s
May 2024
Taiwan
Will the United States and China go to war over an island of 24 million people nearly 6,500 miles from California? Why is this a possibility? What is the history and significance of Taiwan to America and China? Guest: Lyle Goldstein, former professor US Naval College, now at Brow ... Show More
35m 15s