CIMSEC – How does the PLAN see U.S.-China rivalry at sea? Based on sources cited from the December 20222 Conference of the Admirals, it should be obvious that the PLAN’s strategy is not fixated on peacetime “competition” for influence with the U.S. Navy. Nor is it bloated with abstract concepts or diluted by a laundry list of priorities. The answer could not be any clearer: the PLAN is almost singularly focused on high-end war with the U.S. Navy—deterring war, if possible, fighting and winning war, if necessary.

China Maritime Studies Institute – The China Maritime Studies Institute held an academic conference on the topic of the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s Undersea Warfare from 11–13 April 2023. The first two days involved unclassified presentations by scholars, government officials, and naval officers. Classified sessions were held on the third day and will be reported separately. The roughly 175 attendees were mostly US citizens, with several allied participants. Panel topics included 1) strategic and operational factors, 2) submarine force hardware, 3) submarine force human factors, 4) ASW, 5) seabed warfare, and 6) challenges and countermeasures for the U.S. Navy.

USNI Proceedings – In 2022, the PLAN demonstrated why it may be the most dominant naval force in the western Pacific.

CIMSEC – China’s ability to mass fires against warships is a product of a truly historic evolution. China was a third-rate maritime power only two decades ago, but it has transformed into a force that heavily outguns the U.S. Navy in major respects. China has clearly stolen a march on the U.S. when it comes to developing advanced anti-ship firepower, and now the U.S. is racing to close the gap. But it will still be many years before the U.S. has the tools in place to have decent options for massing fires. By then, the Chinese naval arsenal may have become something even more fearsome.

War on the Rocks – A worst-case Taiwan scenario for Chinese leader Xi Jinping would be a major military operation in which the People’s Liberation Army fails spectacularly or displays shocking incompetence akin to Russia’s in Ukraine. Could this happen? 

Global Times – Warships of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy have set out for Singapore to participate in the upcoming bilateral joint military drills and an international defense expo, with analysts saying on Wednesday that the events reflect pragmatic cooperation between the Chinese and Singaporean militaries and promote military openness and understanding in the South China Sea.

China Daily – The People’s Liberation Army Navy has helped evacuate nearly 700 Chinese and foreign nationals from the conflict-plagued African nation of Sudan on Thursday, according to the Navy.

Breaking Defense – For the second year in a row, China is poised to increase its defense budget at a higher rate than its national economy is expected to grow. That is an obvious reason for concern if you are one of the many nations worried about China’s global footprint, but it also raises important questions about the strategic thinking in Beijing. In a new analysis below, Dean Cheng, an expert on the Chinese military, picks apart just what is happening in Beijing and what it might mean for China’s many neighbors. 

Foreign Policy – As the United States was watching the skies in the aftermath of the spy balloon incident, China may have been acting at sea. In early February, maritime vessels disabled the two undersea cables connecting Taiwan’s Matsu Islands, a tiny archipelago just 10 nautical miles off China’s coast, to the internet. Now residents of the islands face highly reduced internet connectivity until the cables are repaired. The activity looks like targeted harassment by Beijing—or an exercise in preparation for cutting off the whole of Taiwan.

BBC – China said it was simulating “sealing off” Taiwan in a third day of drills as it appeared to use an aircraft carrier to launch jets towards the island.

War Zone – Two pieces of artwork from China’s Jiangnan Shipyard have recently emerged depicting what appears to be a new aircraft carrier design. This could be a glimpse at one concept for a planned future Chinese carrier commonly referred to as the Type 004. The images show a vessel that is distinct from the Chinese carrier Fujian, also known as the Type 003, which Jiangnan is building now. It also has some broad external similarities to the U.S. Navy’s Ford class and France’s future New Generation Aircraft Carrier.

BBC – China has simulated precision strikes against key targets on Taiwan and its surrounding waters during a second day of military drills. The drills – which Beijing has called a “stern warning” to the self-governing island – are a response to Taiwan’s president visiting the US last week.

BBC – China’s military is rehearsing the encirclement of Taiwan during three days of military drills.

Global Times – The aircraft carrier Shandong of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy reportedly started its first exercise in the West Pacific on Wednesday after sailing past the island of Taiwan, breaking the first island chain, with analysts saying that the voyage shows the PLA Navy’s second aircraft carrier is fully ready for far sea operations and safeguarding China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Naval News – Last week, the Southern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army released new images of the naval version of the Guizhou WZ-7 “Soaring Dragon” High Altitude Long Endurance drone, operated by the People‘s Liberation Army Naval Air Force.

CIMSEC – The role of civilian roll-on/roll-off (RO-RO) ferries in a PLA invasion of Taiwan deserves its growing notoriety. With port access secured or coupled with developing logistics over the shore capabilities, RO-RO ferries could deliver significant volumes of forces across the Taiwan Strait, offsetting shortfalls in the PLA’s organic sea lift. Some analysts have even described mobilized civilian assets like RO-ROs as a “central feature of [the PLA’s] preferred approach” to a cross-strait invasion.

But the PLA appears intent on assigning RO-RO ferries to another mission: launching amphibious combat forces directly onto beaches from offshore. The PLA has long lacked sufficient landing ships to deliver its full complement of amphibious assault forces, from both army and Navy Marine Corps forces, in the initial assault landing on Taiwan. Rather than building numerous grey-hulled traditional landing ships, the addition of RO-RO ferries into a combined landing ship fleet could quickly close this gap. 

CIMSEC – Chinese lessons from the Pacific War offer policymakers valuable insights about the PLA’s thinking and strategy.

Global Times – US, allies build up underwater encirclement against China, ramping up tensions.

1945 – James Holmes writes that the Korean War could furnish future combatants clues as to how the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) may wage war in maritime Asia. 

CIMSEC – Decades of Chinese investment in sensors, networks and data management means that Allied operations in the Western Pacific are now occurring within a dynamic, complex, shifting, and expanding Chinese C4ISRT ecosystem. The national security community should heed Morton’s hyperobjects and how they provide a better framework for understanding the reality-altering nature of the Chinese C4ISRT complex as a hyperobject. The exact extent and scale of the hyperobject is difficult to ascertain, thereby making it hard to say definitively whether one is being tracked by it at any given time, particularly during this uneasy period of great power competition. Through decades of hard work and investment, China created this hyperobject, and by doing so, it has changed the long-range surveillance and targeting game.

Naval News – New evidence points to China’s XLUUV (extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicles) being armed with torpedoes. This is a significant leap in this space and, together with a large-scale development program, may be out-pacing the West.

Washington Institute for Near East Policy – Current Chinese basing capacity and force commitment in the region seem insufficient to support the level of economic and diplomatic engagement that appears to be Beijing’s new normal, so Washington should prepare for further expansion.

Global Times – Advanced Chinese naval platforms including unmanned combat vessels and a Type 052D guided missile destroyer are on show at an influential defense expo in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the first time, with analysts saying on Wednesday that China’s shipbuilding and associated industries have reached a very high level, and they can confidently display their capabilities and offer trend-leading products for export.

CNN – The Philippine Coast Guard has accused a China Coast Guard ship of pointing a “military grade” laser at some of its crew, temporarily blinding them, aboard a vessel in contested waters of the South China last week.

Global Times – The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy operates a large fleet of auxiliary ships that provide logistics and combat support in all areas including the frontiers of the South China Sea