Maritime Gray Zone Operations: Challenges and Countermeasures in the Indo-Pacific
Check out our new book, published in Naval War College Professor Geoffrey Till’s Routledge Cass Series on Naval Policy & History. Sponsored by the Korea Institute for Maritime Strategy (KIMS), it offers:
1) An authoritative Preface by former Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet Admiral Scott Swift (USN, Ret.).
2) Cutting-edge chapters by Peter Dutton, Gregory Poling, Conor Kennedy, Devin Thorne, & Terence Roehrig.
3) Uniquely revealing maps by Andrew Rhodes—including of the Northern Limit Line, Pyongyang’s counterproposals thereto, the five nearby Northwest Islands under South Korean control.
Proud to work with these leading stakeholders & superstars! Peter offers the best gray zone conceptual framework I’ve yet seen. Greg offers a tour de force of comparative context vis-a-vis the South China Sea & East China Sea. Devin offers unparalleled insights on the evolution of specialized PAFMM forces & the extent of their operations in the Yellow Sea. Terry delivers a powerful history & current survey of North Korean strategy, policy, & actions in these strategically pivotal yet strangely understudied waters.
To see just how deep our new book dives in with original Chinese-language research, etc., see the graphics (& endnotes) in Conor’s chapter! He’s identified, geolocated & analyzed Yellow Sea Maritime Militia units beyond anything else Open Source to the very best of my knowledge.
I’m honored to offer an Introduction and a chapter on the China’s Coast Guard. Hope this book helps increase attention to, & understanding of, all these vital issues…
Andrew S. Erickson, ed., Maritime Gray Zone Operations: Challenges and Countermeasures in the Indo-Pacific (New York, NY: Routledge Cass Series: Naval Policy & History, 2022).
Author of:
- Andrew S. Erickson, “Introduction: Understanding Chinese and North Korean Gray Zone Operations in the Yellow Sea,” 1–18.
- Andrew S. Erickson, “China’s Coast Guard: Organization, Forces, and Yellow Sea Applications,” 54–76.
Book Description
This book addresses the issues raised by Chinese and North Korean maritime ‘gray zone’ activities in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.
For years, China has been harassing its neighbors in South China Sea and East China Sea, employing both coast guard and maritime militia forces, in the name of safeguarding Chinese sovereignty. This behavior is frequently characterized as constituting ‘gray zone’ activity. As the term suggests, this refers to a state of conflict that falls between peace and war. Interestingly, the Yellow Sea, which is geographically much closer to China than South China Sea or East China Sea, has been comparatively quiet. However, there is a danger that the PRC has the capability to replicate its gray zone activities in this area. Worse, North Korea has also been engaging in carefully-calibrated provocations there. This book addresses pressing questions about these activities and offers: (1) a conceptual framework to understand maritime gray zone operations and Beijing and Pyongyang’s approach, with an unprecedented focus on the Yellow Sea; (2) a comprehensive, fully updated fleet force structure for the PRC’s Coast Guard, together with projections regarding how the Coast Guard is likely to develop in the future; (3) an extensive organizational analysis of the PRC’s Maritime Militia that surveys the many units relevant to Yellow Sea operations, some revealed publicly for the first time; and (4) a detailed assessment of North Korean maritime ‘gray zone’ activities.
This book will be of great interest to students of naval strategy, maritime security, Asian politics, and international security.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Understanding Chinese and North Korean Gray Zone Operations in the Yellow Sea
Andrew S. Erickson, U.S. Naval War College and Harvard University
1. Conceptualizing China’s Maritime Gray Zone Operations
Peter A. Dutton, U.S. Naval War College and MIT
2. Gray Zone Incidents in the Yellow Sea
Gregory B. Poling, Center for Strategic and International Studies
3. China’s Coast Guard: Organization, Forces, and Yellow Sea Applications
Andrew S. Erickson, U.S. Naval War College and Harvard University
4. China’s Maritime Militia in the Bohai Gulf and Yellow Sea
Conor M. Kennedy, U.S. Naval War College
5. Casting a Wider Net: The Activities and Evolution of China’s Maritime Militia in the Yellow Sea
Devin Thorne, Threat Intelligence Analyst, Recorded Future
6. North Korea: Gray Zone Actions in the Yellow Sea
Terence Roehrig, U.S. Naval War College and Columbia University
Editor
Biography
Andrew S. Erickson is Professor of Strategy at the Naval War College’s China Maritime Studies Institute, RI, USA and a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Government at Harvard University.
