Sejong Defense Forum (SDF) is designed to provide a critical platform for military experts, academics, and practitioners in South Korea’s defense sector to share information, expertise, and insights on the current affairs of geopolitical significance. The 12th Sejong Defense Forum was hosted under the theme of “the Age of Warfare: the Prospect of Taiwan Crisis and its Challenges” to assess the military ramifications of the current cross-strait relations. During the first part of the session, Dr. Jae-woo Jeon from Korea Institute for Defense Analysis (KIDA) made a specific evaluation on how Taiwan is trying to navigate the regional security landscape based on his analysis of its domestic survey data, the National Development Plan (2021-2024), and the National Defense Report/Quadrennial Defense Review (2021). In particular, Taipei’s “independent and autonomous” defensive military posture – including its technological investment in advanced weaponry and the modernization of armed forces – was closely reviewed with an emphasis on the country’s necessity to enhance credible security partnerships vis-à-vis China’s military adventurism. In the second half of the forum, Dr. In-hyo Seol from Korea National Defense University presented his own analysis of high-profile hypothetical wargame scenarios involving the crisis in the Taiwan Strait. It was showcased how conventional and non-conventional military campaigns – including naval blockade, air patrols, space/cyber/electro-magnetic warfare – would be carried out as tensions escalate in the region. Dr. Seol also underscored the military ramifications of Beijing’s expansive Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) strategy in apprehending the possible maneuvering of the U.S. armed forces in case of a contingency that involves the two superpowers. The future role of the U.S.-Japan-ROK trilateral alliance amid the intensifying crisis of the cross-strait relations and the subsequent provocations of North Korea was further debated at the end of the session. During the Q&A, a set of policy recommendations that reflect the practical implications of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war were suggested, urging more judicious and strategic approaches to the management of the stability in the Korean peninsula. SDF will continue to serve as hubs for addressing geopolitical challenges within the defense sector and seek insights from a wide range of experts who might offer diverse perspectives on the evolving landscape of Asia-Pacific security.