Naval War College Gathers China Experts to Discuss Personnel Strengths, Weaknesses of PLA Navy

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.