‘Kuan-Jen Chen has written a well-researched, original, and persuasive history of America’s struggle to develop a strategy for control of Asia’s maritime arena during the Cold War. Chen’s discussion of the complications created by local competition over natural resources and territorial waters makes an especially welcome contribution to our understanding of the Cold War in Asia.’
Marc Gallicchio - Villanova University
‘Bringing together an impressive array of documents from the United States, China, and Japan, Kuan-Jen Chen reveals how American maritime power in East Asia emerged after World War Two and in the process created ties that continue to shape the region today.’
Elizabeth Ingleson - London School of Economics and Political Science
‘Kuan-Jen Chen's book provides a comprehensive understanding of Cold War history, specifically emphasizing how the dynamics of the Cold War were shaped in maritime East Asia. It offers valuable insights into the complexities of the relationship between the US and Cold War East Asia.’
Shin Kawashima - University of Tokyo
‘Kuan-Jen Chen's excellent book opens up a new perspective in the history of the Cold War in East Asia. This is an enviably ambitious piece that is not afraid of tackling the big questions. Kuan-Jen should be congratulated for such a compelling, original, and penetrating work.’
Hsiao-ting Lin - Hoover Institution, Stanford University
‘An engaging and important study of US maritime strategy and naval diplomacy in a critically important theater of international relations.’
W. Taylor Fain
Source: Diplomatic History
‘Kuan-Jen Chen has succeeded in putting together a well-written, valuable piece of scholarship that fills an important gap, particularly in the perception of the reformulation of the US naval strategy for East Asia in the aftermath of the defeat of Japan in 1945 and beyond.’
Jan Asmussen
Source: Asian Studies Review
‘[A] groundbreaking monograph drawing from a wide range of primary sources that contributes to multiple academic fields.’
Leander Seah
Source: The Journal of Military History