Naval News – New carrier represents the next stage for China’s amphibious assault capabilities. Design will integrate catapult and fixed wing drones supporting amphibious operations.

Atlantic Council – By broadcasting the truth of Chinese vulnerabilities and Taiwanese strengths across multiple channels, Taiwan’s allies and partners can blunt the potency of Chinese propaganda and pave the way for a more informed and resilient approach to supporting Taiwan’s security, as well as stability across the Indo-Pacific.

Defense News – Strategists are right to ask if the U.S. — or more broadly the West — understands the extent to which China values sea power as an enabler for grand strategy. Are we mirroring or projecting our reasonable and rational expectations onto Beijing?

War on the Rocks – A denial theory of victory does not guarantee success, but it offers the best chance to strike an effective balance between the desire to win the war and the imperative to manage escalation.

War on the Rocks – Having spent years conducting extensive wargames with senior U.S. and allied government officials on the various cross-strait threat scenarios, I am confident, as I write in my recently released book World on the Brink, that an economic blockade in lieu of a full-scale military invasion has a low probability of success and, therefore, Beijing is unlikely to pursue such an operation and, indeed, hasn’t attempted it yet even though it has had the capability to do so for decades. In fact, an attempted economic blockade would almost inevitably lead to war or a humiliating defeat by China. 

Defense Opinion – U.S. investment money may have helped bankroll China’s aircraft carrier program by providing financial liquidity in 2018 and 2019 to complete its second flattop, Shandong, giving the country a capability that can be used to further threaten Taiwan and its neighbors.

The War Zone – The first example of a new class of Chinese warship with a large open flight deck, commonly referred to as the Type 076, is steadily taking shape. Generally described as an amphibious assault ship, there have long been reports that the vessel could feature catapults and arresting gear to support an air wing that includes uncrewed combat air vehicles (UCAV) and other fixed-wing drones.

Council on Geostrategy – The People’s Republic of China’s naval build-up over the past decade has been substantial. Once a maritime minnow, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) – the Chinese navy – has grown into a shark. And that shark is increasingly less constrained. Propelled by a growing auxiliary fleet, the PLAN is becoming increasingly mobile, able to operate well beyond the PRC’s shores and adjacent seas. The PLAN may have some way to go to meet the might of the United States (US) Navy or even navies such as the Royal Navy or Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force, especially if supporting the US Navy, but it will only be a matter of time until large Chinese expeditionary fleets are found regularly operating in the world’s oceans.

War on the Rocks – If war breaks out in the Indo-Pacific, it will not be over Taiwan but over the atolls and shoals dotting the South China Sea. At least, that’s the argument the Philippine ambassador to Washington has made, calling these sovereignty disputes, particularly between China and the Philippines, the region’s “real flashpoint.”…Nowhere in the South China Sea seems as ripe for conflict as Second Thomas Shoal.

USNI Proceedings – In 2023, China continued to build its fleet and increase its operations at sea.

Naval News – China has built the world’s first dedicated drone carrier. The ship has not been reported however and many of the circumstances surrounding it remain a mystery.

The War Zone – What exactly China’s plans are for the ship remains unclear, but it built it and got it out to sea extremely quickly.

Defense News – Defense News spoke to sources in Congress, the Pentagon and Washington-based think tanks to understand what may be the most important, most misunderstood year in Sino-U.S. relations. The message was that 2027 has exposed a rift in Washington’s China strategy. The U.S. is more focused on the country it calls its “pacing challenge,” but experts disagree on whether it’s running a sprint or a marathon — and if it can prepare for both.

Defense Opinion – The third Chinese carrier Fujian recently went to sea for trials, at some times trailing an Admiral Kuznetsov-like plume of smoke, reminiscent of the troubled Russian carrier’s last voyage outside home waters in 2023 when its engineering troubles made for global headlines. China has been in pursuit of a carrier aviation capability for nearly 40 years, using every imaginable method to acquire carriers via deception, amusement park attraction and finally domestic carrier production.

National Interest – Even if the United States has fallen into decline in absolute economic and military terms, China may have crested early and plunged into yet steeper decline. In that case, the margin between the contestants would widen even if both countries were on the wane. If that’s how Xi Jinping & Co. size things up, they might order the People’s Liberation Army into action while China stands its best chance of success. There is ample precedent. 

National Interest – China’s Navy is increasingly footloose—including its aviation component. Backed by an impressive armory of shore-based weapons, the fleet need no longer be closely tethered to defense of home waters and skies.

China Maritime Studies Institute – The PLA Navy recognizes the importance of a robust anti-submarine warfare (ASW) system to counter adversaries seeking undersea asymmetric advantages, and its aviation component is a key part of that system. This report discusses the PLAN’s efforts to improve its airborne ASW platforms and equipment and describes how PLAN-affiliated sources discuss the employment of those assets. The PLAN’s significant buildup and growing employment of fixed-wing maritime patrol aircraft in recent years are key indicators of the importance it attaches to the airborne ASW mission set, as is its push to acquire improved sensors on both fixed and rotary wing ASW platforms. PLAN-affiliated authors show that its academic and operational components are coordinating to explore best practices and maximize the effectiveness of these assets across a wide array of ASW scenarios.

US Naval War College Review – China’s engagement with western Pacific island nations and its pursuit of influence over their affairs are driven by its conception of comprehensive national power and a need for reliable access from which it might challenge the U.S. military and eventually displace it from the region.

USNI News – China’s third aircraft carrier Fujian (18) left Shanghai on Wednesday morning to conduct its first sea trial.

American Enterprise Institute – Beijing’s publicly released military budget is inaccurate and does not adequately capture the colossal scope and scale of China’s ongoing military buildup and wide-ranging armed forces modernization.

Reuters – A Chinese container ship remains the focus of an investigation into what caused the damage last year to a Baltic Sea gas pipeline between NATO members Finland and Estonia, Finnish authorities said Thursday.

War on the Rocks – More aggressively pushing back against Chinese illegal fishing practices is an opportunity for the U.S. government to highlight its global leadership in a way that directly defends the rules-based international order, challenges its most capable global competitor, helps rehabilitate the maritime environment, and increases the food security and economic opportunity for some of the world’s poorest and most helpless people.

China Aerospace Studies Institute – On Friday, 19 April, Xi Jinping, Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the Chinese Communist Part (CCP), attended a ceremony where he established a new ‘force’ of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the Information Support Force (ISF).  The ISF appears to have been cleaved from the former Strategic Support Force (SSF), which was essentially disbanded at the same ceremony.

War on the Rocks – Chinese war drums beat on as pundits hotly debate if or when Beijing will try to seize Taiwan by force. There is no apparent countdown to D-day for initiating a blockade or invasion, but major strategic indicators clearly show that General Secretary Xi Jinping is still preparing his country for a showdown. Developments under way suggest Taiwan will face an existential crisis in single-digit years, most likely in the back half of the 2020s or front half of the 2030s.

China Maritime Studies Institute – China’s military diplomacy plays a crucial role in advancing the nation’s foreign policy objectives and safeguarding its strategic interests. This report highlights a diverse array of activities within military diplomacy, including senior-level meetings, joint military exercises, naval port calls, UN peacekeeping operations, and academic exchanges. Our findings reveal a significant—but incomplete—recovery in China’s military diplomacy activities in 2023, following a period of reduced contacts with foreign militaries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Southeast Asia and Russia remain primary partners for China, with emerging strategic importance also seen in Africa, Oceania, and the Middle East. Overall, China’s military diplomacy underscores its efforts to diversify partnerships and assert its global influence, emphasizing regional stability and international cooperation in pursuit of its diplomatic goals.