Andrew S. Erickson

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 continued productive research and analysis on focus areas. Established in 1884, NWC informs today’s decision-makers and educates tomorrow’s leaders by providing educational experiences and learning opportunities that develop their ability to anticipate and prepare strategically for the future, strengthen the foundations of peace, and create a decisive warfighting advantage. (U.S. Navy photo by Mr. Kristopher Burris)

Newport, R.I. – The U.S. Naval War College (NWC) held the China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) Biennial Conference, its fourteenth since 2005, at Naval Station Newport on May 14-15.

This year’s conference, “The People of China’s Navy and Other Maritime Forces,” assembled roughly 150 attendees from across the Department of Defense, U.S. Government, allied and partner nations, think tanks, and industry partners to discuss the recruitment, training, education, career progression, retention, roles and responsibilities of China’s maritime forces personnel as well as their leadership and organizations.

Rear Adm. Darryl Walker, president of NWC, welcomed attendees as well as nearly 200 current NWC students, and addressed the importance of approaching strategic competition with a clear understanding of Chinese perspectives and strategy.

“As you wrap up the academic year, you’ve analyzed China’s national security objectives and worldview, both from an American and a Chinese perspective,” Walker told students. He then urged them to consider “how U.S. defense strategy needs to adapt to the China challenge and how all elements of power are brought to bear.”

The conference began with a panel on the key actors who lead and determine the trajectory of the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN). The panel included discussion of Xi Jinping’s navalist leadership, the PLAN Party Committee and Chinese amphibious command in a Taiwan scenario.

Conference attendees also participated in five other panels supported by more than 50 speakers examining departments within the PLAN headquarters, the service’s warfare communities, how the PLAN recruits and retains talent, personnel in China’s other maritime services and implications for U.S. and partner navies.

Panelists presented research findings from their areas of expertise and engaged in question-and-answer sessions with audience members.

“It is critical, not only for students, but for academics and practitioners, to be able to hear from and ask questions of such a wide variety of subject matter experts in our field,” said Christopher Sharman, conference organizer and director of NWC’s CMSI research center. “Gathering esteemed China watchers, military leaders and industry partners together allows us to build a fuller picture of Chinese capabilities and intentions and, subsequently, plan for future challenges.”

Conference participants also had the opportunity to hear expert reflections from Mr. Kenneth W. Allen, a renowned China scholar, and Mr. Benjamin Rosen of the MITRE Corporation. The two shared results from their studies of China’s sea service personnel and research of Chinese military maritime issues using large language models, respectively. Retired Rear Adm. Michael Studeman also offered key takeaways in an evening keynote address and as the discussant for the concluding panel.

This year’s conference was dedicated to Allen’s more-than-half-century career and contributions to the field of China studies.

The college’s Archives also provided a display with archival material about NWC’s central role in the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis as well as other Taiwan Strait-related material of relevance to conference discussions. NWC faculty augmented the display, discussing their use of archival material to educate students and research current and future national security challenges posed by the PLAN and China’s other sea services.

The conference proceedings will be compiled, refined, and assembled in an edited volume. It will be the tenth book in CMSI’s “Studies in Chinese Maritime Development” series.

Biennial CMSI conferences serve to stimulate focused research and foster dialogue among topic experts resulting in enhanced understanding and continued productive research and analysis on focus areas.

NWC’s CMSI research center enables scholars to perform academic research from Chinese-language sources to develop deeper insight into key aspects of China’s maritime development, capabilities and trends. CMSI publishes research to inform the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, advise U.S. civilian and military leaders, and educate the joint force’s next generation of warfighters.

NWC delivers excellence in education, research, and outreach, informing today’s decision-makers, and educating tomorrow’s leaders. The college provides educational experiences and learning opportunities that develop students’ ability to anticipate and prepare strategically for the future, strengthen the foundations of peace, and create a decisive warfighting advantage.

NEWPORT, R.I. – Dr. Andrew Erickson, professor of strategy in the U.S. Naval War College’s China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI), left, Mr. Kenneth W. Allen, renowned China scholar, center, and Christopher Sharman, director of CMSI, discuss the personnel of China’s sea forces during a fireside chat at the 14th biennial 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 continued productive research and analysis on focus areas. Established in 1884, NWC informs today’s decision-makers and educates tomorrow’s leaders by providing educational experiences and learning opportunities that develop their ability to anticipate and prepare strategically for the future, strengthen the foundations of peace, and create a decisive warfighting advantage. (U.S. Navy photo by Mr. Kristopher Burris)

Dedicated to the career contributions of Kenneth W. Allen to the field

The focus of this year’s China’s Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) conference is on a most critical but under-studied topic: the people in China’s military maritime forces. Leadership, organization, and personnel are essential to the functioning of China’s armed forces, and hence to our understanding and assessment of them, yet represent one of the greatest intangibles and uncertainties.

This conference focuses on the individual personnel (officers/enlisted/civilians) of the PLA Navy and other relevant services and their roles within their respective organizations, together with related dynamics, rules, and policies. We examine recruitment, training, education, career progression, retention, and roles/responsibilities of individual members of the service(s): What are their strengths and weaknesses? How does their approach to training and education differ from the U.S. Navy? How is it similar? What are the likely impacts on PLAN performance?

CMSI is therefore particularly grateful to welcome and recognize Ken Allen, who for more than half a century has led the study of human factors regarding China’s military. Ken has tirelessly uncovered and shared all manner of personnel and organizational details, including how each unit relates to others through the grade system, and the implications of those relationships.

Ken built his analytical skills over twenty-one years in the Air Force as a linguist and intelligence officer, including with tours in both Taiwan and China. His persistent, meticulous dedication served him well as Assistant Air Attaché in Beijing during the tumultuous 1987–1989 period, during which he received the Director of Central Intelligence’s Individual Exceptional Collector of the Year Award for 1988 and the Unit Exceptional Collector of the Year Award for 1989 (Tiananmen). For these signal contributions, he was inducted into DIA’s Defense Attaché System Hall of Fame in 1997.

For the next quarter-century, Ken brought his bore-sighted focus on China’s military organizational structure, personnel, education, training, and foreign relations to researching, publishing, and supporting key institutions dedicated to the same. From 2017–19, Ken concluded his formal leadership in the field by serving as Research Director for the U.S. Air Force’s China Aerospace Studies Institute (CASI). This greatly advanced the Department of Defense’s Professional Military Education system’s China center enterprise, of which CMSI is honored to be a part.

Among Ken’s many career-long contributions, the most impressive and enduring element of all is his role as the ultimate mentor and team player. He has selflessly sought to explain why it is important to understand China’s military organization and personnel, and the implications of its evolution over time. He has generously instructed and supported all who are willing to join him in this vital but under-staffed enterprise. A true teacher and mentor at heart, Ken’s self-selected epitaph, legendary in the PLA studies field, is: “He taught them Grades and Ranks.”

In many ways, this conference represents the fulfillment of Ken’s vision and the realization of his tremendous investment in our community and our field writ large over many decades. We thus could not be more honored to have him join us in this event, which we gratefully dedicate to him.

NEWPORT, R.I. – Mr. Kenneth W. Allen, renowned China scholar, participates in a fireside chat about the personnel of China’s sea forces 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 continued productive research and analysis on focus areas. Established in 1884, NWC informs today’s decision-makers and educates tomorrow’s leaders by providing educational experiences and learning opportunities that develop their ability to anticipate and prepare strategically for the future, strengthen the foundations of peace, and create a decisive warfighting advantage. (U.S. Navy photo by Mr. Kristopher Burris)

NEWPORT, R.I. – Rear Adm. Darryl Walker, president of the U.S. Naval War College, delivers welcome remarks at the 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 continued productive research and analysis on focus areas. Established in 1884, NWC informs today’s decision-makers and educates tomorrow’s leaders by providing educational experiences and learning opportunities that develop their ability to anticipate and prepare strategically for the future, strengthen the foundations of peace, and create a decisive warfighting advantage. (U.S. Navy photo by Mr. Kristopher Burris)

NEWPORT, R.I. – Christopher Sharman, director of the U.S. Naval War College’s (NWC) China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI), speaks at the 14th biennial 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 continued productive research and analysis on focus areas. Established in 1884, NWC informs today’s decision-makers and educates tomorrow’s leaders by providing educational experiences and learning opportunities that develop their ability to anticipate and prepare strategically for the future, strengthen the foundations of peace, and create a decisive warfighting advantage. (U.S. Navy photo by Mr. Kristopher Burris)

From CMSI Director Captain Christopher Sharman, USN (Ret.):

China Military Maritime Watchers – The China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) just concluded its biennial two-day China conference at the U.S. Naval War College in the beautiful City of Newport, Rhode Island.

The conference focused on the individual personnel of the PLA Navy (PLAN) and other relevant services and their roles within their respective organizations, together with related dynamics, rules, and policies.

We examined recruitment, training, education, career progression, retention, and roles/responsibilities of individual members of the service(s). We addressed questions such as: What are their strengths and weaknesses? How does their approach to training and education differ from the US Navy? How is it similar? What are the likely impacts on PLAN performance?

Watch for a Conference “Quick look” that will capture our key takeaways soon. In addition, CMSI China MaritimeReports generated out of this conference and an edited conference volume will follow.

A link to all of CMSI’s publications and other details about the conference are posted on our CMSI webpage here: https://www.usnwc.edu/cmsi

Thanks to all the attendees and panelists and for making this a top tier event. One for the books! The conference was dedicated to the legendary Mr. Ken Allen – someone who has shaped the thinking of generations of PLA scholars. It was an honor having him attend!

Thanks also to George Lang and the Naval War College Foundation for helping us to make this conference one of the great events here at the Naval War College.

NEWPORT, R.I. – Dr. Kristin Mulready-Stone, professional of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College (NWC), moderates a panel on the senior leadership of the Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) at the 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 continued productive research and analysis on focus areas. Established in 1884, NWC informs today’s decision-makers and educates tomorrow’s leaders by providing educational experiences and learning opportunities that develop their ability to anticipate and prepare strategically for the future, strengthen the foundations of peace, and create a decisive warfighting advantage. (U.S. Navy photo by Mr. Kristopher Burris)

THE PEOPLE OF CHINA’S NAVY

AND OTHER MARITIME FORCES

China Maritime Studies Institute Biennial Conference

Dedicated to the career contributions of Kenneth W. Allen to the field

This conference focuses on the individual personnel (officers/enlisted/civilians) of the PLA Navy and other relevant services and their roles within their respective organizations, together with related dynamics, rules, and policies. We examine recruitment, training, education, career progression, retention, and roles/responsibilities of individual members of the service(s): What are their strengths and weaknesses? How does their approach to training and education differ from the U.S. Navy? How is it similar? What are the likely impacts on PLAN performance?

14 MAY 2025

08:30 – 09:00 | Registration

• Participants check in and network.

09:00 – 09:30 | Welcome Remarks

• Overview of the conference goals, structure, and key topics.

09:30 – 11:00 | Panel Discussion 1: “Senior Leadership – Setting the PLAN’s Course”

• This panel focuses on the key actors who lead and determine the trajectory of the PLAN. It has three levels: 1) The highest commander of PLA forces, Central Military Commission (CMC) Chairman Xi Jinping; 2) other members of the CMC, and the officers assigned to its 15 functional sections; 3) The PLAN’s Party Committee, composed of the most senior ranking PLAN officers, including its commander and political commissar.

11:10 – 12:00 | Guest Speaker

12:15 – 13:15 | Lunch

13:30 – 15:00 | Panel Discussion 2: “The PLAN Headquarters”

• The PLAN Headquarters and its functional departments are responsible for formulating and implementing human capital policy for the entire service. This panel examines how different departments fulfill these missions.

15:15 – 16:45 | Panel Discussion 3: “Warfare Communities”

• Naval personnel development “below the neck”: This panel examines advancement of personnel in the PLAN’s service arms, including their career tracks, education and training, and effectiveness.

15 MAY 2025

09:15 – 10:45 | Panel Discussion 4: “Attracting, Developing, and Retaining Talent”

• This panel focuses on key issues concerning recruiting, service, training, education, and deployment of personnel in China’s Navy.

11:00 – 12:30 | Panel Discussion 5: “The People in the PRC’s Other Sea Forces”

• This panel focuses on institutional factors influencing the trajectory and development of other service operations and organizations.

13:00 – 14:15 | Lunch

14:30 – 16:00 | Panel 6: “Implications for the U.S. Navy and Allies/Partners”

• The concluding panel leverages international expertise to evaluate desired (and undesired) qualities and attributes of the people of the PLAN.

16:00 – 1615 | Closing Remarks and Acknowledgements

NEWPORT, R.I. – U.S. Naval War College (NWC) archivists display materials on NWC’s central role in the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis at the 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 continued productive research and analysis on focus areas. Established in 1884, NWC informs today’s decision-makers and educates tomorrow’s leaders by providing educational experiences and learning opportunities that develop their ability to anticipate and prepare strategically for the future, strengthen the foundations of peace, and create a decisive warfighting advantage. (U.S. Navy photo by Mr. Kristopher Burris)