Power and Projection: China’s Maritime History

On Monday, February 26, the Alexander Hamilton Society – UT-Austin Chapter, the Clements Center for National Security and the Strauss Center for International Security and Law hosted Ian Easton, security policy analyst and current associate professor at the U.S. Naval War College’s China Maritime Studies Institute, for a discussion on China’s maritime strategy and its broader implications for the future of the Indo-Pacific region. This talk will explore the evolution and strategic dimensions of China’s naval power, emphasizing its impact on regional dynamics, the critical issue of Taiwan, and the shifting relationship between the United States and China.

Ian Easton is an associate professor in the U.S. Naval War College’s China Maritime Studies Institute and is the author of “The Final Struggle: Inside China’s Global Strategy” and “The Chinese Invasion Threat: Taiwan’s Defense and American Strategy in Asia.” He previously served as a senior director at the Project 2049 Institute in Virginia and a visiting fellow at the Japan Institute for International Affairs in Tokyo. He 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 studied Mandarin Chinese at Fudan University in Shanghai and National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei.