Andrew S. Erickson

J. Michael Dahm and Thomas Shugart, “Bridges Over Troubled Waters: Shuiqiao-Class Landing Barges in PLA Navy Amphibious Operations,” CMSI Note 14 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 20 March 2025).

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From CMSI Director Christopher Sharman:

If you read one report about China’s military developments today, read CMSI […]

K. Tristan Tang, “PLA Navy Enhances Realistic Combat Training: Observations of PLA Navy Operations Around Taiwan,” CMSI Note 13 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 13 March 2025).

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From CMSI Director Christopher Sharman:
China Navy Watchers: What might an increase in Chinese Navy operations around Taiwan suggest […]

Brilliant analysis by my China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) colleague. Illuminates critical topic: Taiwan-relevant China Maritime Militia developments right across the Strait in Fujian Province!
Ryan D. Martinson, “Fujian Unveils Incentives for Militia Training for a Cross-Strait Campaign,” Jamestown China Brief 25.5 (15 March 2025).

Executive Summary: 

Fujian Province’s new “Measures for Guaranteeing Militia Rights and Interests” aim […]

Qian Xiaohu, Mo Xiaoliang, Wang Guanbiao, and Liu Bin, “Inscribing Loyalty While Endeavoring to Advance into the Deep Blue,” CMSI Translation 15 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 12 March 2025).

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From CMSI Director CAPT Christopher H. Sharman, USN (Ret.):
The Party Committee aboard PLAN warships plays an […]

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, 14 March 2025.

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

In a new echo of U.S. construction of Mulberry Harbors to support the 1944 D-Day Invasion, China recently began construction of 3-5+ (perhaps 7 and counting) Shuiqiao bridge barges at Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) Longxue Island shipyard in Guangdong Province, and has now been observed exercising with them—at a nearby beach close to the Southern […]

The Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI)’s publications are always free of charge, copyright-free, publicly released-distribution unlimited—and also available here!

CMSI publishes penetrating insights related to China’s military maritime developments through academic research using Chinese-language sources.
CMSI research informs U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps civilian and military leaders, and educates the joint force’s next […]

Andrew S. Erickson, “Adversaries and Planning Assumptions: China’s Navy and the Post-Cold War World,” in Evan Wilson and Paul Kennedy, eds., Planning for War at Sea: 400 Years of Great Power Competition (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2025), 317–39.

This chapter explains how and why the People’s Republic of China (PRC)’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) […]

This event is organized by the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, Harvard University and co-sponsored by the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University and the Korea Institute, Harvard University.

Harvard University, CGIS South S020, Belfer Case Study Room
1730 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Monday, March 10 @ 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm

Panel Discussion — Three Years In, Prospects […]

Honored to publish lead book review in new double issue of Naval War College Review (combined Summer and Autumn 2024 edition) marking the 140th anniversary of the Naval War College’s founding!
Here are concise assessments of Xiaobing Li’s tour de force, “China’s New Navy,” as well as Toshi Yoshihara’s magnum opus, “Mao’s Army Goes to Sea.” […]

Honored to see our new coedited volume “Chinese Amphibious Warfare” added to the Commandant of the Marine Corps Professional Reading Program’s 2025 Reading List!

Chinese Amphibious Warfare: Prospects for a Cross-Strait Invasion by Andrew S. Erickson, et al.
This study explores key questions concerning Beijing’s determined pursuit of the Chinese Communist Party’s ultimate political and strategic prize: […]

Ryan D. Martinson, “War without Surprises—Education for Command in the People’s Liberation Army Navy,” Naval War College Review 77.3 (Summer/Autumn 2024): 14–27.

In the lead article for a special double issue of Naval War College Review, published in commemoration of the Naval War College’s 140th anniversary, CMSI Professor Ryan Martinson analyzes the professional development of China’s […]

Ian Easton, “Finally, A PLA Navy Missile Gap?” CMSI Note 12 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 20 February 2025).
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From CMSI Director Christopher Sharman:

CMSI is pleased to provide you with our latest CMSI Note.
This short CMSI Note is written about a special report published this month 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 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 drop…
For analysis of Chinese […]

Jonathan Robinson, The PLA Navy’s Hospital Ship Fleet: Concerns, Developments, and Future Prospects, China Maritime Report 45 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 10 February 2025).

From CMSI Director Christopher Sharman:
What do you know about the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) hospital ship fleet? What ships are a part of the PRC’s hospital ship […]

Liu Xue and Li Mingyu, “Manual for Developing Ship Captains,” CMSI Translation 14 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 6 February 2025).

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From CMSI Director CAPT Christopher H. Sharman, USN (Ret.):
How much do you know about the training, career path, and development of People’s Liberation Army Navy […]

Christopher H. Sharman and Andrew S. Erickson, Dirty But Preparing to Fight: VADM Li Pengcheng’s Downfall Amid Increasing PLAN Readiness, China Maritime Report 44 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 24 January 2025).

Naval War College’s second-most-popular publication with over 1,700 downloads and counting.

From CMSI Director Christopher Sharman:
The drumbeat of China’s Navy leaders purged for […]

PLA Navy Equipment Department and Support Department: History and Organizational Background
Kenneth W. Allen[1]
Kenneth W. Allen, “PLA Navy Equipment Department and Support Department: History and Organizational Background,” China Analysis from Original Sources 以第一手资料研究中国, 22 January 2025.
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New reference from China military organization studies pioneer Ken Allen!
Equipment Departments are central to […]

Dr. Sarah Kirchberger and CAPT Christopher P. Carlson, USN (Ret.), “Neither Fish Nor Fowl: China’s Development of a Nuclear Battery AIP Submarine,” Center for International Maritime Security (CIMSEC), 22 January 2025.

On September 27, 2024, news broke that a previously unreported new type of Chinese nuclear-powered submarine, dubbed the “Type 041,” had suffered a major mishap […]