CSPC is delighted to invite you for a virtual conversation with Major General Mick Ryan, a retired general in the Australian Army, author of “White Sun War”, and an insightful analyst well-known for his lengthy threads on Twitter about the war in Ukraine and military adaptation. “White Sun War”, his first work of fiction, tells the story of a future war between the United States and China over Taiwan. A brief description of the book is below:
After decades of poising on the brink, the United States and China finally go to war when China invades the island of Taiwan. Deploying their most futuristic technologies in this grand strategic competition of the 21st century, the stakes could not be higher. Not only the future of the Taiwanese people but the fate of the world lies in the balance.
In an era when humans no longer just use machines, but partner with them in all aspects of military operations, this fictional account views this future war through the eyes of the American, Chinese, and Taiwanese caught up in the maelstrom, revealing the heartbreak, courage, leadership, and despair of high-tech warfare played out on land, at sea, in space, and in cyberspace.
White Sun War asks readers to ponder anew an essential question for the future of security in western Pacific and the entire Indo-Pacific region: is a war for Taiwan winnable?
Major General Mick Ryan joins CSPC on 3 May at 1500 to discuss “White Sun War”, the war in Ukraine, and his thoughts on the future of war. He will be in conversation with Joshua C. Huminski, the Director of Mike Rogers Center for Intelligence & Global Affairs.
Mick Ryan is a retired major general in the Australian Army. A graduate of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and the U.S. Marine Corps University Command and Staff College and School of Advanced Warfighting, he is a passionate advocate of professional education and lifelong learning. He has commanded at platoon, squadron, regiment, task force, and brigade level.
In January 2018, he assumed command of the Australian Defence College in Canberra, Australia. In 2021 he was an adjunct scholar at the Modern War Institute. Mick was made a member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his leadership of Australia’s first reconstruction task force in Afghanistan. He completed his 35-year career with the Australian Army and transitioned to the Army Reserve as a major general on February 27, 2022.
His book, War Transformed, was published on February 15, 2022, by U.S. Naval Institute Books