…an excellent book of two distinct halves! … Absorbing and well-written chapters by Gregory Gilbert, Barry Strauss, and Arthur Eckstein on Persia, Sparta, and the Roman Republic respectively serve both to encourage and warn… that much can be done in essentially non-traditional ways but that dangers lie in wait for those who fail to apprehend the signs of decay which are almost always self-induced. Authoritative essays by Jakub Grygiel, James Pritchard and Jacob Kipp follow in the shape of the… naval history of the Ottoman Empire, France, and Russia during the early to late-modern period, while the contrasting fortunes and potential exhibited by both Tirpitzian Germany and Soviet Russia in the last century are splendidly captured (as one would have expected) by those naval stalwarts Holger Herwig and Milan Vego. … the essays (and the excellent maps that go with them) could easily form a slim volume on their own.

Andrew Erickson and his editorial team obviously believe that books on China would be better served if they were less insular and Sino-centric and relied more on providing a contrasting analytical treatment with the record of other powers. China Goes to Sea demonstratively addresses this shortcoming and will be of interest to all naval scholars who wish to build on their knowledge of the past and learn from the mistakes of others. …

If the first two sections of this book were useful, engaging and analytically sound, the second half is better still. Andrew Wilson’s insightful chapter on the Ming dynasty’s fascinating but inconsistent courtship of the sea is persuasively argued and rests upon a solid base of evidence provided by a wide variety of sources. …

Bruce Elleman breaks up his fine, persuasive and ultimately sobering chapter on the Qing into four parts and aptly sums up the overall lumbering and ineffectual maritime policy of the Manchu leadership as one of neglect and nadir. These lamentable mistakes were not just consigned to the Qing, however, as Bernard Cole demonstrates all too clearly in his essay “More Red than Expert,” in which he deftly ranges over the entire period of the Cold War and underlines the contrasting role of Mao and Deng in these tumultuous years….

China Goes to Sea moves toward its conclusion with two fascinating essays devoted to the contemporary situation: Gabriel Collins and Michael Grubb’s illuminating account of the exceptional growth in the PRC’s commercial shipbuilding that has exerted a “pulling” effect on the PLAN’s… development; and Eric McVadon’s informed and spirited commentary on the PLAN….

…China Goes to Sea is to be welcomed for all the right scholarly reasons and its contributors are to be congratulated for shedding further light on the fascinating yet manifestly unfinished story of China’s maritime transformation.

“中国のSea Powerに関する米海軍大学中国海洋研究所の論文紹介” [An Introduction to the U.S. Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute’s Research Paper Series on Chinese Sea Power], pp. 8-9.

“公開論文1: 中国の活発な造船工業についての包括的調査–商業的開発と戦略的関連” [Published Paper 1: A Comprehensive Survey of China’s Dynamic Shipbuilding Industry: Commercial Development and Strategic Implications], pp. 9-12.

“公開論文2: 偵察,シグナルの発信, そして門衛行動–日本水域における中国の海軍作戦と国際法との関係” [Published Paper 2: Scouting, Signaling, and Gatekeeping: Chinese Naval Operations in Japanese Waters and the International Law Implications], pp. 13-16.

“公開論文3: 中国の機雷戦 ‘暗殺者の戦棍’ 能力” [Published Paper 3: Chinese Mine Warfare: A PLA Navy “Assassin’s Mace” Capability], pp. 16-22.

“公開論文4: 中国の鄧以降時代における民事・軍事関係–危機管理と海軍の近代化への関連” [Chinese Civil-Military Relations in the Post-Deng Era: Implications for Crisis Management and Naval Modernization], pp. 22-23.

“公開論文5: 5匹の龍が海をかき回す–中国の海洋取締能力の改善における挑戦と好機” [Five Dragons Stirring Up the Sea: Challenge and Opportunity in China’s Improving Maritime Enforcement Capabilities], pp. 24-25.

“書籍1: 将来の中国原子力潜水艦部隊” [Book 1: China’s Future Nuclear Submarine Force], pp. 26-27.

“書籍2:中国は海へ進出–歴史的経緯の比較による海洋の変革” [Book 2: China Goes to Sea: Maritime Transformation in Comparative Historical Perspective], pp. 28-29.

“書籍3: 中国のエネルギー戦略–北京の海洋政策への影響” [Book 3: China’s Energy Strategy: The Impact on Beijing’s Maritime Policies], p. 29.

Dr. Erickson reveals the shortcomings of the article by Dr. Hooper and Mr. Albon while valuing its furtherance of discussion of the Chinese antiship ballistic-missile (ASBM) program. Dr. Erickson wrote an article in that same issue on targeting this ASBM. There are important additional concerns.

Dr. Hooper and Mr. Albon alluded to a space system for targeting the ASBM and warheads that would strip the targeted ship of defenses, yet deemed the “hue and cry” unnecessary because experts have known this for years. They described as “poor manners” analysis that ignores as primary targets the smaller aviation ships of Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and Russia. Far more pejorative terms are warranted for analysis that suggests the sophisticated ASBM is designed to fight against these small ships “because they are the ideal platforms to prevent regional aggression”—implying that China intends to attack Thailand?

After dumping prompt global strike into the mix, the authors’ convoluted conclusion was that “ASBM fear-mongering” and the danger of unwarranted nuclear response to a conventionally armed ballistic missile could lead to a “regional effort to slow the proliferation of conventional missiles in the Pacific.” … Their conclusion, like other mental gymnastics revealed by Dr. Erickson’s comments in the May issue, is quite a leap. The appropriate conclusion is that China’s ASBM program is an abiding concern. …

The excellent idea behind this collection is the historical comparison of how other powers in other times have made the transition from land to sea power. The 19 authors cover ancient Egypt through Sparta and Rome and the Ottoman Empire, through the modern era, with special attention to China’s maritime transformations in comparative-historical perspective. Each chapter has pertinent maps and notes. In addition to its portraits and perceptions of Chinese naval expansion, the book has fine introductions to more obscure topics, such as the Ottomans. …Especially for policy makers. Summing up: Highly recommended. Most levels/libraries.

The third book in the Naval Institute Press’s Studies in Chinese Maritime Development series is a collection of essays and case studies that is important not only for those working in naval studies and for sinologists, but also for scholars concerned with the idea of strategic culture and its application.

Following an introduction by Erickson and Goldstein, the book is organized into four parts: the premodern era (Persia, Sparta, Rome, and the Ottoman Empire); the modern era (France, Russia, imperial Germany, and Soviet Russia); Chinese maritime transformations (Ming and Qing dynasties, the Cold War); and China in comparative perspective, with essays on contemporary Chinese shipbuilding prowess, China’s navy today as it looks toward blue water, and the Chinese study of the rise of great powers.

The contributors are such renowned scholars as Barry Strauss, Arthur Eckstein, James Pritchard, Holger Herwig, and Bruce Elleman. As stated in the book’s introduction, a close reading of the case studies reveals distinct differences between China and other powers that have pursued maritime transformation. Erickson and Goldstein note that Beijing has an impressive commercial maritime dynamism and is uncovering a robust historical maritime tradition. China understands that stable relationships with its continental neighbors are a prerequisite for the growth of maritime power. The issue of Taiwan and the strategic significance of China’s maritime trade routes mean there is no real comparison with the Kremlin’s pursuit of naval power. …

… This book, a collection of essays presented at a conference on Chinese submarines in 2006, shows how the Chinese nuclear navy has developed to date and possible future trajectories it could take. … The texts are well sourced and provide readers with references to conduct more extensive research and reading if desired. In summary, any student of Chinese military developments should read this book. …

…The part [of Admiral Willard’s testimony] that was so provocative to China ASBM-watchers was the use of the word “testing.”  Dr. Andrew S. Erickson, Associate Professor in the Strategic Research Department at the U.S. Naval War College and a founding member of the department’s China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI), had this to say about the use that particular word in official testimony:

While mounting evidence from Chinese doctrinal, service, technical, trade, and netizen publications suggests that China has been developing an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) since the 1990s, this is the first official confirmation that it has advanced to the stage of actual testing. This data point should dispel notions previously held by some that Beijing could not, or would not, develop an ASBM. …

If Chinese ASBM capabilities interest you, you should do yourself a favor and check out Dr. Erickson’s related post in its entirety.  He includes at the bottom of the post a useful list of relevant recent literature, some of which I was already familiar with, but that also contains some new items that I had not seen before.  The motherlode!…

“The China Maritime Studies Institute… is fast becoming a center of excellence for research on all aspects of the Chinese navy. … all the contributions are excellent… The beauty of this book comes in different forms. As the editors indicate in their introduction, the contributors do not always agree. … Important statistics are also provided. …provides the latest scholarship. Further enhancing the book’s value is that the contributors are all actively involved in shaping this multifaceted debate in their respective institutions. … This reviewer could not exaggerate the importance of this book in understanding the issues shaping the development of the Chinese navy.”

This book assesses China’s potential as a genuine maritime power, placing it in a world historical context next to cases of similar attempted transformations from the Persian Empire to the Soviet Union. The authors argue that China has turned the corner on maritime transformation and contend that if this proves to be true, such a transformation would be an extraordinary event in the history of the last two millennia. This volume is the third in the series, “Studies in Chinese Maritime Development,” following China’s Future Nuclear Submarine Force and China’s Energy Strategy: The Impact on Beijing’s Maritime Policies.

… First, something on the background to the book. In effect, it’s been produced by some of the leading lights of the increasingly impressive China Maritime Studies Institute at the US Naval War College at Newport, Rhode Island.  … This group of academics working for the US Navy has the advantage of understanding Chinese, inestimable given the vast maritime literature that country is now producing. In a century likely to be dominated by the relationship of the G2—China and the United States—the American focus on this new big kid on the block is entirely understandable, since the day-to-day relationship between the two countries is formed and expressed first by their trade with each other and then by their naval interactions. In large measure, this relationship will determine the political architecture of the 21^st century and helps explain why it will be the century of the Pacific. …

The editors of China Goes to Sea have decided to go back to history to see if that helps us predict which way the PLA(N) will go. Specifically they have commissioned a series of clear and well-argued studies which looks at the way other countries have developed their seapower to see whether that will throw up any clues. …

The last two parts of the book look just at China. They consist of three particularly stimulating chapters which look at the rise and fall of Chinese seapower in the past and four which explore possible trajectories into the future. What emerges is a picture of the Chinese pragmatically transforming themselves (back?) into a sea-faring nation because they have a developing interest in the defence of the sea-based trading system, and a variety of vital maritime concerns in what they regard as their sea areas that are being challenged by their neighbours (Taiwan, the islands of the South and East China Seas). Progress is steady rather than dramatic, and China still has ‘continental distractions’ such as disputed land-borders, environmental and demographic challenges, and a growing problem with internal order. How things develop in the future will depend in large measure on the reaction to all this by China’s neighbors, most particularly the United States, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, and the other countries of ASEAN. …