Andrew S. Erickson

Andrew S. Erickson, “Toppling Trees, Flourishing Forest: Why the PLA Navy Advances Despite ‘Corruption’-Related Removals,” Issues in National Security Lecture, Naval War College, 22 September 2026.
Click here to watch on YouTube.

This INS lecture examines an apparent paradox in Xi Jinping’s military modernization: even as unprecedented purges remove senior officers and defense-industry leaders, China’s military—and particularly […]

Eric Hundman and Connor Akiyama, Tightening the Institutional Cage: The PLA Navy’s Discipline Inspection Commission, China Maritime Report 58 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 28 September 2026).

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From CMSI Director Christopher Sharman:
China Navy Watchers: Who polices the people who police the PLAN?
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) […]

“China Maritime Studies Institute Celebrates 20 Years with Lecture by Former Chief of Naval Operations, Panel Discussion,” U.S. Naval War College Public Affairs, 25 September 2026.

China Maritime Studies Institute Celebrates 20 Years with Lecture by Former Chief of Naval Operations, Panel Discussion

The U.S. Naval War College (NWC) celebrated the 20th anniversary of the founding of […]

Andrew S. Erickson, “CMSI’s 20th Anniversary! China Maritime Studies Institute Established Two Decades Ago within Naval War College,” China Analysis from Original Sources 以第一手资料研究中国, 2 October 2024.
Yesterday, as a new fiscal year began, the China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) marked twenty years since its establishment within the Naval War College (NWC) in Newport, Rhode Island.
I […]

Andrew S. Erickson, “The China Navy Leadership: Corruption & Capabilities Bookshelf,” China Analysis from Original Sources 以第一手资料研究中国, 22 September 2026.

Since Xi assumed power in 2012, scores of flag and general officers and defense industry leaders have been removed. This is part of a larger pattern across China’s entire Party-State-Military bureaucracy. By my earlier tally, Xi-era removals within […]

Su Ming, “How to Leverage the ‘Butterfly Effect’ to Cause the Collapse of ‘Taiwan Independence’ Elements?” CMSI Translation 35 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 31 August 2026).

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From CMSI Director Captain Christopher Sharman, USN (Ret.):
China-Taiwan Watchers: When is Taiwan’s electrical grid most vulnerable? When would an […]

Ian Easton, “Crossing a Hellscape: PLA Views on New U.S. Military Concepts to Defend Taiwan,” CMSI Note 24 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 26 August 2026).

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From CMSI Director CAPT Christopher Sharman, USN (Ret.):
China-Taiwan Watchers: How have PRC sources reacted to the Hellscape concept and […]

Article Compilations by Ken Allen —

China’s Army in 2025: Sources & Key Issues
Overview File: China’s Army in 2025
English-Language PRC Articles on China’s Army in 2025
Chinese-Language PRC Articles on China’s Army in 2025    

This summary was prepared with AI assistance and vetted by Ken Allen, who contributed key inputs. Unless otherwise specified, “Chinese” means “Chinese-language.”
Longtime People’s […]

Article Compilations by Ken Allen —

Overview File: China’s Navy in 2025
English-Language PRC Articles on China’s Navy in 2025
Chinese-Language PRC Articles on China’s Navy in 2025

This summary was prepared with AI assistance and vetted by Ken Allen, who contributed key inputs. Unless otherwise specified, “Chinese” means “Chinese-language.”
Longtime People’s Liberation Army (PLA) researcher Ken Allen has produced […]

Zhang Debao, Sun Yunxing, and Hu Xiaolong, “Research on Integrated Defense Against Precision Strikes by the Powerful Enemy at Sea,” CMSI Translation 34 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 4 August 2026).

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From CMSI Director CAPT Christopher H. Sharman, USN (Ret.):
China PLA Watchers: What lessons are PLA […]

Jordan Shaw, Andrew S. Erickson, and Christopher Sharman, “Vice Admiral Zhang Zheng Likely at the Helm: The PLA Navy’s Apparent New Most Senior Officer,” CMSI Note 23 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 29 July 2026).

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From CMSI Director CAPT Christopher Sharman, USN (Ret.):
China Navy and […]

Ryan D. Martinson, “Testing Boundaries: The Lan Hai 201 Mission East of Taiwan,” CMSI Note 22 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 28 July 2026).

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From CMSI Director CAPT Christopher Sharman, USN (Ret.):
China Maritime Watchers: Can a fisheries research ship become an instrument of statecraft?
According to […]

Ming Di, “A Super-AIP Submarine Under the Bayi Flag,” CMSI Translation 33 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 22 July 2026).

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From CMSI Director CAPT Christopher H. Sharman, USN (Ret.):
China Navy Watchers: Why might China’s Navy want a new class of “small-reactor” nuclear submarines?
That question is the […]

Natalie Shen and Joel Wuthnow, The Silent Service: Assessing PLAN Influence in the Central Military Commission, China Maritime Report 56 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 15 July 2026).

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From CMSI Director Christopher Sharman:
China Navy Watchers: China’s military has built the world’s largest navy—but the navy still […]

CMSI Quarterly Review 1.6 (Summer 2026) (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 14 July 2026).

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From CMSI Director Christopher Sharman:
China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) Friends and Colleagues –
We are pleased to share the summer issue of the CMSI Quarterly Review, highlighting the China Maritime Studies Institute’s latest scholarship, media […]

China’s successful 6 July 2026 launch into the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone appears to be its first publicly acknowledged long-range submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) flight from a submarine since the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)’s successful 12 October 1982 JL-1 developmental launch from the Type 031 (Golf-class) trials submarine Great Wall (Changcheng) 200.
My 83-page […]

Ryan D. Martinson, “The New Normal East of Taiwan,” CMSI Note 21 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 6 July 2026).

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From CMSI Director CAPT Christopher Sharman, USN (Ret.):
China Military Maritime Watchers: Has the PRC quietly established a “New Normal” east of Taiwan?
On 4 July, two […]

Yue Zhiqiang, Wang Li, and Li Jinqiao, “The U.S. Marine Corps Concept for ‘Stand-In Forces’—Analysis and Response,” CMSI Translation 32 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 6 July 2026).

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From CMSI Director CAPT Christopher H. Sharman, USN (Ret.):
China Military Maritime Watchers: What do PLA authors publishing in […]

Follow the latest developments in China’s growing nuclear-powered submarine force (pp. 20–22) and beyond with this new edition of “Modern Chinese Maritime Forces,” the most comprehensive open source PRC sea services inventory!
As we gallop through the Year of the Fire Horse (火马年), China under Xi is steaming full speed ahead, particularly at sea. Navigate troubled […]