China's Rising Sea Power

This is a fascinating insight into Chinas strategic abilities and ambitions, probing the real depths of its plans for the twenty-first century. China's Rising Sea Power explores similarities between Chinas strategic outlook today and that of earlier continental powers whose submarine fleets challenged dominant maritime powers for regional hegemony: Germany in two World Wars and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Using insights from classical naval strategic theory, Peter Howarth examines Beijings strategic logic in making tactical submarines the keystone of Chinas naval force structure. He also investigates the influence of Soviet naval strategy and ancient Chinese military thought on the PLA Navys strategic culture, contending that Chinas increasingly capable submarine fleet could play a key role in Beijings use of force to resolve the Taiwan issue. This book will be of great interest to all students and scholars of security and strategic studies, Asian politics, geopolitics and military (naval) strategy.