“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.”

Cited in the following Wikipedia entries:

“Nuclear submarine”

“Submarines of the People’s Liberation Army Navy”

“Type 091 submarine”

“Type 092 submarine”

“Type 093 submarine”

“Type 095 submarine”

“Peng Pai”

Cited in the following Wikipedia entry: “Type 094 submarine”

… 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. …

“The specter of the Chinese antiship ballistic missile could be just that if the United States takes a serious look at updating existing technology and past successful programs. …

Even Andrew Erickson and David Yang in their influential articles admit that we don’t know if the PLA has actually developed the capabilities, is involved in a theoretical or internal dialog, is simply trying to pressure America concerning Taiwan, or is trying to intimidate South Korea and Japan and interfere with their relationship with the United States.

It is, however, prudent to take the ASBM threat seriously, and begin by determining how and with what capabilities we already possess or could soon possess to neutralize the threat. …”

Associate Strategic Research professor Andrew Erickson at the U.S. Naval War College (NWC) recently won third-place in the U.S. Naval Institute 2009 General Prize Essay Contest, with an article that explored Chinese development of anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBMs).

An ASBM, if developed and deployed successfully, would be the world’s first weapons system capable of targeting a moving aircraft carrier strike group from long-range, land-based mobile launchers.

“I’m extremely honored to receive this award,” Erickson said. “The Naval Institute is making a fantastic contribution both to supporting the U.S. Navy in general, and to supporting in-depth research across the waterfront on issues of interest to the Navy.”

Started in 1878, the General Prize Essay Contest is perhaps the oldest continually operated writing contest in the nation. Authors do not submit entries; a committee chooses the best essays from the magazine Proceedings over a one-year period.

Erickson, who is a member of NWC’s China Maritime Studies Institute, co-wrote the article, titled “On the Verge of a Game-Changer,” with a Rand Corporation researcher.

The work represents over nine months of research and years of broader study; Erickson’s interest in Chinese defense affairs dates back to when he wrote his doctoral dissertation at Princeton University, which focused on Chinese aerospace development.

“Examining Chinese sources made me realize how rapid and far-reaching Chinese development has been in aerospace, particularly with regard to ballistic missiles,” Erickson said of his dissertation. “If China could achieve an ASBM capability, it would be extremely significant, with implications for the U.S. Navy.”

The essay itself offers multiple perspectives on this topic. Erickson initially examines the potential consequences of ASBM development and deployment, then surveys related Chinese efforts and the strategic goals that drive them.

His findings come from Chinese open sources, particularly technical journals and military and defense industry publications. Erickson also consulted civilian experts in various academic and scientific disciplines to help authenticate the information.

In assessing China’s development of ASBMs, Erickson said that China has likely made great progress regarding hardware, but that mastering detection, targeting, and bureaucratic coordination is likely to require ongoing effort.

“I have no doubt that China can accomplish virtually anything with respect to missiles that it sets out to do,” said Erickson. He believes that Chinese development of ASBMs is well underway and poses very real challenges for the Navy.

Professor Robert Rubel, Dean of NWC’s Center for Naval Warfare Studies, links this issue to a larger strategic imperative: “The Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower calls for the concentration of credible combat forces in Northeast Asia in order to prevent war or win it if it occurs,” Rubel explained. “Credibility must be in the eyes of the Chinese, the North Koreans or anyone else who might contemplate military aggression. Erickson is doing the Navy and the country a service by calling attention to a development that might erode the credibility, in their eyes, of our naval forces.”

Erickson’s award-winning article suggests a nuanced response to ASBM development.

“The United States must redouble its efforts to promote peace and cooperation while ensuring that its own capabilities remain strong should deterrence fail,” Erickson said in the article.

If developed and deployed successfully, a Chinese antiship ballistic missile (ASBM) system of systems would be the world’s first capable of targeting a moving aircraft carrier strike group from long-range, land-based mobile launchers that could make defenses against it difficult and/or highly escalatory.

Some assume that because the engineering problem proved unsolvable for the Soviet Union in the 1970s, it must remain unsolvable for China in the 21st century. The Soviets’ failure to solve a similar problem using vacuum tube and early transistor technology illustrates the difficulty of successfully attacking a carrier with a ballistic missile, but is by no means predictive. China enjoys the latecomer’s advantage in employing technology, has mastered ballistic missile technology, and has better satellite capabilities now than the Soviet Union had then. …

The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) partnered with the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College for a fourth year and with the George H.W. Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University for the second year to convene the 20th annual People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Conference in Carlisle, Pennsylvania from 25–27 September 2009.

The conference, “The PLA at Home and Abroad: Assessing the Operational Capabilities of China’s Military,” began with a keynote address by Admiral Dennis C. Blair, Director of National Intelligence, and explored the broad range of operational capabilities of China’s military.

Conference Publications: Daniel Alderman, 2009 PLA Conference Colloquium Brief: The “PLA at Home and Abroad.” Released by the Strategic Studies Institute in January 2010, this colloquium brief summarizes key insights from the September 25-27, 2009 conference.

Forthcoming: The 2009 PLA Conference volume will be published in spring 2010.

From NWC the participants/attendees were: Provost Ambassador (ret.) Mary Ann Peters, Dr. Carnes Lord, Dr. Andrew Erickson, Prof. Peter Dutton, and Prof. James Holmes. Other participants included Dr. Han Hua of Beijing University; Dr. Li Hong, Secretary General of the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association (CACDA); Prof. Feroz Khan, a retired Pakistani general now resident at the Naval Postgraduate School; Mr. Henry Sokolski of NPEC, Dr. George Perkovich of Carnegie, and Mr. Robert Einhorn of the Department of State.

NEWPORT, R.I. – Faculty and staff members of the U.S. Naval War College commemorated an unprecedented collection of Chinese research journals with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the China Maritime Studies Institute new library facility, on Jan. 14.

The library, featuring a collection of about 80 journals and hundreds of books on topics from marine science to regional security to defense policy, is the first of its kind in the United States. The collection focuses on China’s maritime development and has been praised by academics and senior policymakers as a much-needed resource.

The opening of the library marks both a milestone for CMSI and for naval research. The ceremony began with speeches from President, Naval War College Rear Adm. Phil Wisecup and CMSI director Lyle Goldstein.

“It is a very good thing to know there are people looking at these developments,” Adm. Wisecup said, praising the Asia-Pacific expertise of the NWC faculty.

The collection of Chinese language policy and technical journals, already one of the largest in the U.S., is going to double over the next couple of months, and for Goldstein and others, the new library represents the lodestone of the institute, because CMSI research has made a name by carefully examining Chinese language sources on assorted vital subjects.

“We’re going from a virtual institute to a real institute,” Goldstein said. “It’s been a real team effort.”

“Given the importance of building a stable, productive relationship with China, this collection of materials really is critical,” said Robert Rubel, the dean of the Center for Naval Warfare Studies (CNWS), recognizing how CMSI’s growing collection of Chinese-produced journals, magazines, and books has progressed since CMSI’s inception in 2006.

CMSI is part of the Strategic Research Department within CNWS, which is the research arm of NWC as a nexus for broadly based, advanced research on the naval contribution to national strategy. Rubel added the development of CMSI has been gratifying, and the institute’s research could foster cooperation among countries. The academic nature of CMSI’s research will provide further benefits to the Navy.

National Security Decision Making professor Paul Smith said the collection itself is unprecedented, and so is the information it will provide.

“This is the way you find out what’s really being said in a country,” Smith said, adding that information isn’t filtered through media or exaggerated.

NWC historian and Maritime History Department chairman John Hattendorf said the library is a significant accomplishment for the college and an important milestone.

“Bringing in this dimension of foreign language materials is a tremendous achievement,” he said of the collection. While NWC has had research material available in European languages, the addition of Chinese resources is a great asset to the faculty.

During the ceremony, Goldstein read part of an April 14, 2008, speech by the Secretary of Defense to the Association of American Universities, urging the collection of open-source material from China, which is difficult to obtain.

“It is often inconvenient, if not impossible, for American researchers to get access to this material since it is often available only in China,” Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said in 2008. “A real–or virtual–archive of documents acquired by researchers and others abroad would help us track Chinese military and technological developments.”

At the time, Gates cited CMSI’s initial efforts as an example to other American universities.

“Faculty members at the Naval War College have already instituted a smaller version of this idea focusing on the Chinese Navy,” said Gates. “If other colleges and universities were to specialize in other areas, then a consortium–with a common ‘card catalogue’ and interlibrary loan–would allow scholars and schools to pool resources. Further, by holding conferences and sponsoring research, such a consortium would make a very real contribution to our understanding of the intentions of an important world power and military power–an understanding that would have real impact on public policy.”

Smith said the bolstered research capabilities with the expanded library facility will benefit the entire Navy, in addition to civilian policymakers.

“It provides us the opportunity to do analysis that’s so critical in this era,” he said, adding that a strong relationship with China is increasingly necessary. “This is a gateway, or aperture, to get access to that relationship.”

Goldstein said the library is the work of multiple faculty members and praised cooperation among the college’s research and academic departments. The proud CMSI director explained that he and staff members had many challenges to overcome.

“We had to prove ourselves again and again,” he said. “And the team has done that.”

In addition to CMSI staff and other NWC faculty efforts, the creation of the library facility was made possible through the support of the Naval War College Foundation, which provided substantial assistance to the institute, allowing the collection to grow.

CMSI publishes a China Maritime Studies monograph series, produces research-based articles, sponsors a monthly lecture series, supports fleet decisionmakers, contributes to the NWC core curriculum and holds an annual conference at NWC. CMSI’s recent trip to the Pacific region to talk with military commanders, such as Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Patrick Walsh, is only the beginning of the institute’s potential to support the fleet.

Goldstein said military leaders are frequently interested in learning about academic approaches to understanding China. The collection and CMSI’s related analyses will help Navy leaders see “past the headlines” and make decisions based on credible research.

In the future, Goldstein plans for CMSI to expand its outreach to the fleet and to NWC students. He said that while the full-length papers in the library’s journals are in Chinese, and need considerable competency with the language to understand, many of the article abstracts are written in English, so students can quite easily access some of the data for their own academic research.

In March, CMSI plans to meet in Beijing with faculty from Peking University, one of China’s most prestigious universities, to encourage cooperation and dialogue, and hopes to meet the chief of the Chinese Naval War College in Nanjing.

“Ambitions for this institute are high,” he said.