China's Evolving Surface Fleet: July 2017, (Paperback)

I decided to print this book because it was no longer available on Amazon.com. I assume this is because the original contained charts from another publisher. Those charts have been replaced with information that is otherwise generally available in the public domain. Because this is a government publication, only the commentary is subject to copyright. Over the past sixteen years, the People's Liberation Army Navy's (PLAN's) missile fast-attack craft and amphibious fleets have been significantly modernized. While these two types of vessels have not increased in numbers, their capabilities have increased exponentially. This publication examines the People's Liberation Army's (PLA's) doctrine and training strategy in order to analyze present, and predict future, missions by these military vessels. China's deterrence posture is improved greatly by these ships and boats, which aid coastal water defense, and threaten Taiwanese attempts to gain independence. In addition, these two fleets improve China's long-range sealift capabilities, and help with the PLA's traditional, and new, nontraditional security practices. These fleets allow the PLAN to continue offshore operations, and begin "blue-water", or "far-seas" operations, helping the United States to predict the future nature of Chinese maritime missions.