Assessing China's Naval Power

Sarah Kirchberger is an Assistant Professor of Contemporary China Studies at the Asia-Africa-Institute (AAI), University of Hamburg. A former analyst with shipbuilder Blohm + Voss, she holds an MA and a PhD in Sinology. Her publications include a book on informal politics in China and Taiwan and various articles and book chapters on China’s political system, political history, domestic politics, foreign policy, and naval modernization.

"It is a powerful contribution to the debate on the military capacity of China and a precious source of information for all scholars and analysts dealing with security issues in Asia. This book bears a great value as a realistic global assessment of PLAN's current naval capability, based on an impressively comprehensive analytical framework. Ultimately, the author succeeds in her endeavour to provide convincing arguments for diminishing the fear of PLAN, the 'monster' we are afraid of." (Raymond Yamamoto, Journal of Asian Security and International Affairs, Vol. 4 (1), 2017)

• 1 Introduction.- 2 Naval Power and Its Role in China's Rise.- 3 Comparing Naval Capability and Estimating the Cost Impact.- 4 Producing Naval Weapon Systems: The Industrial Basis of Naval Power.- 5 The PLA Navy's Capability Profile.- 6 Strategic Implications of China's Naval Build-Up.- 7 Concluding Remarks and Summary of Results.