Title: China’s New-Era Maritime Security: A Holistic National Security Framework
Authors: Xu Chuanang, Zhang Yanzhe, and Zhang Jian
ISBN: 978-1-80589-052-2
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-80589-053-9Hardback
Pages: 282
About the Book:
This book provides a comprehensive examination of how China is redefining its maritime security strategy within the framework of its holistic national security vision. Drawing on historical development, institutional reform, and strategic transformation, it analyses how China’s maritime governance has evolved from fragmented responses to an integrated system that links defence, economy, environment, and diplomacy. The study traces the deep cultural and institutional roots of China’s approach to the ocean and explains how these traditions are being reshaped by contemporary challenges in law, technology, and global governance. Through interdisciplinary analysis, the book presents a clear structure of China’s maritime thinking in the new era and outlines the policy logic behind the construction of a coordinated, sustainable, and enduring maritime security system. It is a key reference for scholars, policymakers, and professionals concerned with maritime affairs, international security, and Chinese strategic studies.
China’s New-Era Maritime Security: A Holistic National Security Framework
Chuanang Xu is a PhD candidate in World Economy at Jilin University, under the supervision of renowned scholar Professor Zhang Yanzhe. His research focuses on the Belt and Road Initiative, non-traditional security, China’s maritime security, and country/region-specific economic studies. As a scholar deeply engaged in global economic and security issues, Xu Chuan’ang is dedicated to exploring the interplay between global economic structures and security challenges, particularly in the context of China’s policy and influence on maritime and non-traditional security under the Belt and Road Initiative. His research integrates perspectives from international relations, economics, and security studies, offering both theoretical insights and empirical analysis, with the aim of providing valuable contributions and policy recommendations in these fields.
Dr. Yanzhe ZHANG: is Professor of Northeast Asian Research Center of Jilin University.
Dr. Jian ZHANG: is Doctor in Economics and Lecturer of International Economics and Politics School at the Liaoning University.- A comprehensive analysis of China’s maritime security strategy within the framework of the holistic national security concept, offering a systematic perspective rarely addressed in existing maritime security studies.
- Bridges history, strategy, and governance, tracing the evolution of China’s maritime thinking from cultural and historical foundations to contemporary policy and strategic design.
- Integrates traditional and non-traditional maritime security issues, including naval strategy, maritime economic security, environmental protection, digital ocean governance, and technological transformation.
- Explains the institutional logic behind China’s maritime governance system, examining how policy coordination, legal frameworks, and national strategy interact across defence, economy, environment, and diplomacy.
- Addresses emerging technological dimensions of maritime security, including artificial intelligence, satellite monitoring, maritime data systems, and digital ocean platforms shaping modern ocean governance.
- Provides insights into China’s role in global ocean governance, including maritime law, international cooperation, and participation in the development of international maritime norms.
- Examines the Indo-Pacific security environment and maritime competition, offering a policy-relevant perspective for scholars, analysts, and professionals working on international security and maritime strategy.
- Presents a structured and interdisciplinary approach to China maritime security studies, making it a valuable reference for research on China studies, international relations, maritime policy, and global security governance.
Preface
Chapter 1: Kun’s Dream and the Oceanic Map
Section 1 Oceans in Myth: The Proto-Aspiration to Face the Sea
Section 2 The Ocean in Civilization: Early Dynasties and the Capacity to Engage with Water
Section 3 From Institutional Emergence to Strategic Reversal: The Termination of China’s Millennia-Long Maritime Trajectory
Section 4 The Sea Cannot Be Forsaken: China’s Maritime Awakening Amid Modern Crises
Section 5 Broken Fleets, Enduring Visions: Reconstructing Chinese Maritime Strategy from Republic to Revolution
Section 6 Chapter Summary
Chapter 2: Between Rupture and Continuity – Reconstructing Maritime Thought and Institutions in Modern China
Section 1 Beginnings and Anchoring (1949–1978): Foundational Naval Development in the Early PRC
Section 2 Crisis and Realignment (1979–1995): The Shock of Reality and Strategic Reorientation in the Early Reform Era
Section 3 Development and Exploration (1996–2005): Institutional Progress and Capability Breakthroughs in Naval Modernisation
Section 4 Initiation and Anchoring (1949–1978): Naval Development and Institutional Foundations in the Early PRC
Section 5 Strategic Accumulation and Intellectual Readiness (2011–2014): Maturation of Maritime Thought Prior to the National Security Concept
Section 6 Chapter Summary
Chapter 3: Expanding Paradigms—Incorporating Maritime Non-Traditional Security and the Evolution of Governance Logic
Section 1 The Exposure of a Single-Security Logic: The Endogenous Limits of the “Defense Navy” Paradigm
Section 2 The Escalation of Non-Traditional Threats and the Awakening of Security Awareness
Section 3 Structural Reconstruction of the Logic of Maritime Security Governance
Section 4 Expansion of Policy Frameworks and the Enhancement of Governance Capacity
Section 5 Systemic Integration Attempts Prior to the Proposal of the Holistic National Security Concept
Section 6 Chapter Summary
Chapter 4: Under the Surface Currents — Five Real-World Maritime Security Challenges Facing China
Section 1 Approaching the Frontier: The Intensification of Maritime Military Security Risks
Section 2 Resource Rivalries: Strategic Contests over Maritime Economic Security
Section 3 Fragile Linkages: Channel Anxiety in China’s Maritime Economic Security
Section 4 The Internationalization of Strategic Competition in Maritime Political Security
Section 5 “Isolated Information Islands”: Multiple Risks and Defensive Logics of Maritime Information Security
Section 6 Chapter Summary
Chapter 5: Holistic Coordination — A New Interpretation of Maritime Security under China’s Holistic National Security Concept in the New Era
Section 1 Strategic Core: The Logical Structure and Institutional Tensions of the Holistic National Security Concept
Section 2 Security Coordination: An Integrated Governance Mechanism for Maritime Security Under Multi-Dimensional Threats
Section 3 Capacity Transformation: Policy Transition from National Will to Maritime Governance Capability
Section 4 Cognitive Evolution: Reconstructing Maritime Consciousness within the National Security Discourse
Section 5 Feedback Mechanism in Institutional Evolution: From Pilot Programs to the Normalization of Governance
Section 6 Chapter Summary
Chapter 6: Strategic Counterbalance and Breakthrough — Governance Strategies for Addressing China’s Maritime Security Dilemmas
Section 1 Institutional Integration for Coordinated Governance — Resolving the Dilemmas of Fragmented Authority and Sectoral Divisions
Section 2 Optimizing the Technological System for Integrated Maritime Sensing: Addressing the Risks of “Information Silos” and “Delayed Early Warnings”
Section 3 Cognition-Led Strategic Narratives: Countering Discourse Deficits and Rule-Setting Passivity
Section 4 Strategic Governance through Regional Mechanisms: Mitigating Geopolitical Coercion and Normative Containment Risks
Section 5 Adaptive Mechanisms for Governance under Normalized Evolution: Escaping the Traps of Reactive Management and Structural Inertia
Section 6 Chapter Summary
Chapter 7: Strategic Blueprinting — Top-Level Design and Institutional Translation of the Maritime Power Strategy
Section 1 Strategic Embedding of National Will: From Policy Initiative to Top-Level Coordination
Section 2 Reforming the Institutional Framework of Marine Functional Zoning: A Reconstruction Path for Spatial Governance Logic
Section 3 The Integrated Blue Development Mechanism under the “Five-Sphere Integrated Plan”: A Synergistic Model Linking Ecology, Economy, and Security
Section 4 Fiscal Investment and Policy Instrument System: A Multi-Level Resource Allocation and Support Mechanism
Section 5 Institutional Translation Capacity for Strategic Execution: From Vision to Mechanism
Section 6 Chapter Summary
Chapter 8: Rule-Making Power—China’s Institutional Participation and Discursive Construction in Global Ocean Governance
Section 1 China’s Position under the Framework of International Maritime Law: From Passive Adaptation to Rule Participation
Section 2 China’s Response to Global Blue Governance Agendas: Engagement with Resources, Climate, and Polar Affairs
Section 3 The Provision Capacity of Maritime Public Goods: Institutional Responsibilities in Security, Scientific Research, and Humanitarian Rescue
Section 4 Global Dissemination of the “Community of Shared Future” Concept: Normative Values and Institutional Linkages
Section 5 Strategic Wisdom in Institutional Construction: Cross-Cultural Legal Dialogue and Normative Expansion Pathways
Section 6 Chapter Summary
Chapter 9: Intelligent Empowerment — The Transformation of Ocean Governance Capacity Driven by the Technological Revolution
Section 1 Building Digital Ocean Platforms: Multi-Source Sensing Systems and Intelligent Coordination Mechanisms
Section 2 AI and Deep-Sea Exploration: Information Dominance in the Deep Blue Domain
Section 3 Integrated Marine Big Data System and Real-Time Feedback Loop: A Closed-Loop Mechanism of Early Warning, Response, and Adjustment
Section 4 Cybersecurity and Digital Sovereignty: Institutional Responses to Emerging Technological Risks
Section 5 A Rule-of-Law Framework for Technological Governance: Integrating Ethics, Regulation, and Governance Capacity
Section 6 Chapter Summary
Chapter 10: The Maritime Expression of Institutional Civilization – The Global Significance of China’s Governance Philosophy
Section 1 “Carrying the Dao through the Ocean”: The Deep-Blue Reflection of Chinese Governance Philosophy
Section 2 Governance through Wisdom: The Maritime Evolution of China’s Institutional Capacity
Section 3 The Institutional Sublimation of “Intelligent Governance”: From Technical Rationality to Value Rationality
Section 4 The Reconfiguration Pathway of "Institutional Discourse Power": From Rule Taker to Rule Maker
Section 5 Institutional Consciousness and Global Vision of a Civilizational State
Section 6 Chapter Summary
Conclusion
Reference
