Even as America Fights Iran, It’s Not Ready for China—with Eyck Freymann

Eyck Freymann, Hoover Fellow at Stanford University and author of Defending Taiwan: A Strategy to Prevent War with China, joins the show to explain the complexities of deterrence against China, the strategic challenges in the Indo-Pacific, and the implications of the wars in Ukraine and Iran for Taiwan. We break down China’s plausible gray-zone tactics like quarantine and coercive mobilization, and how these tools, if unchecked, could lead to a total economic or military break. Where are the vulnerabilities in the U.S. defense industrial base, in naval and trade logistics, and in missile magazine depth? ▪️ Times 01:45 No path out   04:13 Maintaining balance      10:18 Kasserine lessons 16:51 China’s possible moves in the gray-zone 22:53 More stockpiling  27:33 Invasion 34:21 Decapitation and bombardment  39:20 An economic and political problem  46:42 The Summit Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more content on our School of War Substack