Andrew S. Erickson

The Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) has just released the Quick Look summary of its 14–15 May 2025 Conference on “The People of China’s Navy and Other Maritime Forces.”
Excerpts selected by CMSI Director CAPT Christopher H. Sharman, USN (Ret.):

Xi Jinping is China’s first great “navalist” statesman. He considers willingness to embrace the […]

Li Muqiang, Yang Fulong, Qu Bin, and Zhai Dengqian, “Combine Wisdom and Join Efforts, Training in a Sea of Mines, ‘Pioneers of Breaking Obstacles’,” CMSI Translation 18 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 21 May 2025).
A Minesweeper Unit from the Northern Theater Command Navy Establishes a Joint Teaching and Training Mechanism with an Educational […]

Andrew S. Erickson, “Imposing the Fate of Sisyphus? The PLA as An Instrument of National Power and Force Preparation toward Taiwan,” in Benjamin Frohman and Jeremy Rausch, eds., The PLA in a Complex Security Environment: Preparing for High Winds and Choppy Waters (National Bureau of Asian Research, 15 May 2025), 149–74.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A […]

NEWPORT, R.I. – Panelists discuss senior leadership of the Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) at the U.S. Naval War College’s (NWC) 14th biennial China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) Conference, held onboard Naval Station Newport, May 14-15. Biennial CMSI conferences serve to stimulate focused research and foster dialogue among topic experts resulting in enhanced understanding and […]

China’s State Council Information Office (SCIO) just posted a white paper titled “China’s National Security in the New Era.” The English notification and abstract are below; followed by a very rough English-language translation and the full text in the original Chinese.
Perhaps the most interesting section, Chapter VI elaborates on China’s National Security System (国家安全体系和能力) and […]

John Chen and Joel Wuthnow, Sea Dragons: Special Operations and Chinese Military Strategy, Naval War College China Maritime Study 18 (9 May 2025).

Click here to download a cached PDF copy.
From CMSI Director Christopher Sharman:

This Red Book dives into a topic that is rarely discussed and almost never researched, the PLA’s naval special operations forces’ most […]

Andrew S. Erickson, “China’s New Liaowang-1 Space Support Ship: Defensive and Offensive Capabilities from Sea to Satellites,” 19FortyFive, 8 May 2025.

Big splash! The People’s Republic of China (PRC) just fielded the world’s largest space support ship by far. Designed and built by China State Shipbuilding Corporation at Jiangnan Shipyard on Shanghai’s Changxing Island, Liaowang-1 (IMO 1063607) […]

Andrew S. Erickson, “Tracking China’s ‘Little Blue Men’—A Comprehensive Maritime Militia Compendium,” China Analysis from Original Sources 以第一手资料研究中国, 7 May 2025.

American and Allied knowledge of the PRC’s Third Sea Force has come a long way since my outstanding former Naval War College colleague Professor Conor Kennedy and I began our focused research following his arrival in […]

Read the latest and greatest from my brilliant my Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) colleague Prof. Ryan Martinson! Review his unique insights on PLA maritime strategy and PLA Navy personnel issues as we analyze the fall of Admiral Miao Hua (苗华) and Vice Admiral Li Pengcheng (李鹏程) and watch for more shoes to […]

Ronald O’Rourke, China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress, RL33153 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 24 April 2025).
Having trouble accessing the website above? Please download a cached copy here!

You can also click here to access the report via the public CRS website.
SUMMARY
China’s military modernization effort, including its naval modernization effort, is the top focus […]

Brilliant historical insights from Naval War College Professor Paul Smith!
On 4 September 1958, President Eisenhower arguably resolved the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis from just outside his special office—on the side porch of Navy Building 10, today the Naval War College Museum. Click here to watch a two-minute newsreel on YouTube.

Dr. Smith’s forthcoming book uniquely documents […]

Don’t miss this pithy distillation of Ryan Martinson’s cutting-edge findings concerning the PLA Navy’s closest equivalent to the U.S. Naval War College—the Naval Command College in Nanjing, where professional military education is doubling down on the fundamentals of naval operations and warfighting regarding scenarios of greatest concern. The Party commands ideological obedience and limitations persist, […]

This event is sponsored and organized by the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, Harvard University.

Harvard University, CGIS South S020, Belfer Case Study Room
1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Wednesday, April 30 @ 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm

Andrew S. Erickson, Professor of Strategy, China Maritime Studies Institute, U.S. Naval War College; Visiting Scholar 2024-25, Fairbank Center for […]

Ryan D. Martinson, China’s Fishermen Spies: Intelligence Specialists in the Maritime Militia, China Maritime Report 46 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 23 April 2025).

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A CACHED PDF.
From CMSI Director Christopher Sharman:
China Military Watchers: The most common mission of China’s maritime militia is to serve as the “eyes” of […]

Naval War College Lecture of Opportunity
Title: Planning for War at Sea: 400 Years of Great Power Competition
Speakers: Evan Wilson, Paul Kennedy, John Hattendorf, Kevin McCranie, John Maurer, Ryan Wadle, and Andrew Erickson
Date: 21 April 2025
Time: 1200-1315
Location: Spruance Auditorium and Zoom
POC: Evan Wilson

Andrew S. Erickson, “Adversaries and Planning Assumptions: China’s Navy and the Post-Cold War World,” presentation of chapter […]

Jian Huajun and Zhu Haishi, “Analysis of Problems with Warship Damage Control Plans & Methods for Preparing Damage Control Plans,” CMSI Translation 17 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 17 April 2025).
My take: Damage control is hard for ALL navies. The U.S. Navy has years of experience & emphasis. The PLA Navy grew up influenced […]

Nobody outside of China has a better view into developments of concern regarding China’s armed forces than Admiral Sam Paparo, Commander, Indo-Pacific Command since 3 May 2024. Previously Commander, Pacific Fleet starting 5 May 2021. Four years of daily observation of PRC military developments down to the smallest externally observable detail. His prepared statement and […]

Andrew S. Erickson, “China’s Naval Leadership: Corruption and Capabilities,” Visiting Scholar Presentation, Fairbank Center, Harvard University, 14 April 2025.

14 April 2025 @ 3:00 pm – 4:15 pm, CGIS South, Room S050, 730 Cambridge St., Cambridge, MA 02138

Speaker: Andrew S. Erickson, Professor of Strategy, China Maritime Studies Institute, U.S. Naval War College
Regarding China’s ability to seize […]

Since Xi assumed power in 2012, an extraordinary array of flag and general officers, as well as defense industry leaders, has been removed. By my running tally, this includes: 15+ senior military officials and defense industry executives; 8 CMC members, including Vice Chairman General He Weidong; 14 military deputies to National People’s Congress (since March 2023 […]