Ian Chong 莊嘉穎

Honored to Provide Foreword for Latest “Modern Chinese Maritime Forces”—Most Comprehensive Unclassified Order of Battle for #China’s Sea Services! wargamevault.com/en/product/… Curated content: bit.ly/MCMF26 Follow the latest developments in China’s growing nuclear-powered submarine force (pp. 20–22) and beyond with this new edition of “Modern Chinese Maritime Forces,” the most comprehensive #OpenSource PRC sea services inventory! As we gallop through the Year of the Fire Horse (火马年), China under Xi is steaming full speed ahead, particularly at sea. Navigate troubled Indo-Pacific waters by consulting the latest version of Modern Chinese Maritime Forces! China’s #Navy is simultaneously sustaining high-rate production, beginning a new generation of surface combatants, & continuing comprehensive force expansion across the waterfront. China’s Coast Guard & Maritime Militia are achieving similarly rapid advances. This most recent iteration of the 2nd Edition includes multifarious drawings throughout, with dedicated sections for PLA Army (pp. 65–77) and PLA Air Force (pp. 78–80) watercraft; the latest data updates, including regarding aircraft carriers (pp. 11–12), Shuiqiao-class LPU bridge barges (pp. 32–33), & the Liaowang-1 space support ship (p. 83). Non-Navy Prototypes, Demonstrators, & Experimental Vehicles are covered on pp. 80–81; including the Zhong Da 79 small container ship fitted as a test ship for wartime emergency arsenal ship concept to convert merchants (p. 80, attached). Issued in both PDF & print versions, this is the most extensive compendium of unclassified order of battle, data, & ship drawings available anywhere. It tracks the world’s most-numerous Navy, Coast Guard, and Maritime Militia vessels in unrivaled detail. Even just scrolling or flipping through this volume for a minute reveals the staggering scope and extent of Beijing’s sea power across the waterfront today. I simply could not be more honored to contribute a new, improved Foreword that captures China’s latest military maritime superlatives! Manfred Meyer (edited by Larry Bond & Chris Carlson), Modern Chinese Maritime Forces, Second Edition(Admiralty Trilogy Group, 1 October 2026). •“A compilation of ships & boats of the Chinese Navy, Coast Guard, Maritime Militia & other state authorities” •In terms of ship numbers, each of China’s 3 sea forces is the world’s largest by a large margin. For the scenarios that most concern the U.S. and its regional allies, these numbers matter greatly. •This suggests an important conclusion: China’s numerical sea force supremacy and the corresponding need for power projection& presence to counter it effectively demonstrates the need for a substantially-sized @USNavy. This book can help inform related deliberations and development. All the more reason to consult this handy compendium today! •The .pdf version is a living document, updated quarterly (1 January, 1 April, 1 July, 1 October) with new drawings, commissionings, decommissionings, & other ship data as it becomes available. •Single purchase includes access to future periodic updates of volume. Significant force-structure/status content: •Carrier section now explicitly lists a “Type 004 CVN” as China’s follow-on nuclear-powered carrier project, associated with a future Dalian-built hull (p. 11). •Fujian (Type 003) aircraft carrier commissioned 5 November 2025 (p. 11). •Conventionally-powered submarine coverage includes entry on Type 039C Yuan-class SSP (p. 22) & test submarines (p. 24). •Offers entries for PRC experimental submarines, including (p. 80) Type 041 Zhou-class hybrid combination SSP-Nuclear (“SSPN”), testbed for air independent power/propulsion (AIP) with a micro-nuclear reactor! •Launch platform ship for satellites via solid fuel rockets, p. 85. •Unique PAFMM ship silhouettes & related information on pp. 140–41! •Check out crane ship coverage on pp. 181–83! •Ro-Ro ferries featured on p. 185.