Red Star Over the Pacific, Third Edition
China's Rise and the Challenge to U.S. Maritime Strategy
3rd Edition
Published on 7. May 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
432 pages
978-1-68247-396-2 (ISBN)
Description
The latest edition of Red Star over the Pacific explores how China's growing sea power-shaped by both Western and Chinese strategic thought-threatens U.S. maritime dominance in Asia and demands urgent adaptation by American sea services.
In this third edition of Red Star over the Pacific, authors Toshi Yoshihara and James R. Holmes assess how the rise of Chinese sea power challenges American primacy in maritime Asia. Drawing on Alfred Thayer Mahan's sea-power theories, now popular with Chinese practitioners and thinkers, along with Chinese theorists such as Sun Tzu and Mao Zedong, they consider how strategic thought about the sea shapes Beijing's deliberations and examine how the Chinese navy has translated strategic ideas into operational concepts, tactics, and capabilities. It pays great attention to the missile threat while acknowledging the disruptive potential of emerging technologies like drones, AI, and orbital capabilities. The authors conclude that an age of strategic competition is upon Asia and that America must adapt quickly to prevail. The third edition updates the narrative, adds substantial new material, and shows just how much the world has changed around the American sea services in a such a short time.
In this third edition of Red Star over the Pacific, authors Toshi Yoshihara and James R. Holmes assess how the rise of Chinese sea power challenges American primacy in maritime Asia. Drawing on Alfred Thayer Mahan's sea-power theories, now popular with Chinese practitioners and thinkers, along with Chinese theorists such as Sun Tzu and Mao Zedong, they consider how strategic thought about the sea shapes Beijing's deliberations and examine how the Chinese navy has translated strategic ideas into operational concepts, tactics, and capabilities. It pays great attention to the missile threat while acknowledging the disruptive potential of emerging technologies like drones, AI, and orbital capabilities. The authors conclude that an age of strategic competition is upon Asia and that America must adapt quickly to prevail. The third edition updates the narrative, adds substantial new material, and shows just how much the world has changed around the American sea services in a such a short time.
Reviews / Votes
"The third edition of Red Star Over the Pacific is the essential guide to understanding China's quest for sea power-and what it means for the U.S. and our Navy-Marine Corps team. Drawing directly from Chinese political and military sources, and informed by four decades of U.S. maritime strategy and the Navy's recent combat experience in the Red Sea, Yoshihara and Holmes offer a clear-eyed assessment of today's maritime competition. This latest edition deserves the widest possible readership." - Adm. Phil Davidson, USN (Ret.), 25th Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command"It is tough to overstate just how great this third edition of Red Star over the Pacific is. Yoshihara and Holmes chart the evolution of China's maritime power from emerging challenger to peer competitor while assessing the implications for U.S. strategic interests. Reaffirming the judgment of earlier editions-that strategy, not spending, must lead-this volume offers a disciplined methodology for designing a foundational maritime strategy commensurate with the stakes.Reaffirming the judgment of earlier editions-that strategy, not spending, must lead-this volume offers a disciplined methodology for designing a foundational maritime strategy commensurate with the stakes." - Adm. Scott Swift, USN (Ret.)
"With worldwide commitments that strain resources, the United States still faces an expanding Chinese navy, merchant marine and overwhelming shipbuilding industry. The authors, in this third edition, earnestly strive to keep America's focus on and promote understanding the rise of Chinese maritime power as the prime threat to U.S. global supremacy." - Seapower
More details
Edition
Third Edition, New Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Annopolis
United States
Edition type
New edition
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
3 Maps, 2 Figures
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 26 mm
Weight
701 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-68247-396-2 (9781682473962)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Toshi Yoshihara | James R. Holmes
Red Star Over the Pacific, Third Edition
China's Rise and the Challenge to U.S. Maritime Strategy
E-Book
03/2026
3rd Edition
Naval Institute Press
€39.49
Available for download
Persons
Toshi Yoshihara is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. He was the inaugural John A. van Beuren Chair of Asia-Pacific Studies and a professor of strategy at the U.S. Naval War College. He holds a PhD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. He lives in Vienna, Virginia.
James R. Holmes is the inaugural holder of the J. C. Wylie Chair of Maritime Strategy at the U.S. Naval War College and previously served on the faculty of the University of Georgia School of Public and International Affairs. A former U.S. Navy surface warfare officer, he earned a PhD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. He lives in Barrington, Rhode Island.
James R. Holmes is the inaugural holder of the J. C. Wylie Chair of Maritime Strategy at the U.S. Naval War College and previously served on the faculty of the University of Georgia School of Public and International Affairs. A former U.S. Navy surface warfare officer, he earned a PhD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. He lives in Barrington, Rhode Island.