China's rapid development is reshaping the world in all dimensions. Chinese language open sources offer insights into these critical trends. While such materials are increasing constantly in number, diversity, and sophistication, only a fraction is available in English. The analyses available here, many based on sources not previously considered outside China, are designed to help bridge that gap--and thereby increase understanding of the most dynamic great power in the international system today.
Hot off the NWC Press! In the new Autumn 2026 issue of Naval War College Review, I’m honored to publish a “Special Feature—Twenty Years of the China Maritime Studies Institute.”
In the words of Professor Sam J. Tangredi, Editor-in-Chief, Naval War College Press, “we present a retrospective essay from Professor Andrew Erickson on the twentieth anniversary […]
Ryan D. Martinson, “Precluding the Powerful Enemy: A New PLA Concept for a Taiwan Conflict,” CMSI Note 25 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 14 October 2026).
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From CMSI Director CAPT Christopher Sharman, USN (Ret.):
China PLA Watchers: What does the PLA think it must do to […]
Admiral Gary Roughead, U.S. Navy (Ret.), “Charting the Course: 20 Years of CMSI and the Future of China in the Maritime Military Domain,” Keynote address delivered in the Mahan Reading Room, Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, 24 September 2026.
Here is the official Naval War College writeup.
My personal reflection on CMSI’s founding and development is […]
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 […]
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 […]
Chinese Undersea Warfare: Development, Capabilities, Trends
Maritime Gray Zone Operations: Challenges and Countermeasures in the Indo-Pacific
Oxford Bibliography: “The People’s Liberation Army (PLA)”
China’s Climate Cooperation Smokescreen: A Roadmap for Seeing Through the Trap and Countering with Competition
Large-Scale Amphibious Warfare in Chinese Military Strategy
Rebalancing U.S. Forces: Basing and Forward Presence in the Asia-Pacific
China’s Near Seas Combat Capabilities
Chinese Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile (ASBM) Development: Drivers, Trajectories and Strategic Implications
Asia’s Rising Energy and Resource Nationalism: Implications for the United States, China, and the Asia-Pacific Region
Chinese Aerospace Power: Evolving Maritime Roles
China’s S-Curve Trajectory: Structural Factors Will Likely Slow the Growth of China’s Economy and Comprehensive National Power
China, the United States, and 21st-Century Sea Power: Defining a Maritime Security Partnership
China Goes to Sea: Maritime Transformation in Comparative Historical Perspective
China’s Energy Strategy: The Impact on Bejing’s Maritime Policies
China’s Future Nuclear Submarine Force
Chinese Mine Warfare: A PLA Navy 'Assassin’s Mace' Capability
China’s Nuclear Force Modernization
