A Book Talk with Toshi Yoshihara on "Mao's Army Goes to Sea"

The Global Taiwan Institute (GTI) is pleased to invite you to a conversation with Toshi Yoshihara on his new book, "Mao's Army Goes to Sea: The Island Campaigns and the Founding of China's Navy." Beginning in 1949, China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) was forced to undergo a radical transformation. After years of campaigns against Japan and the Chinese Nationalists, the PLA had developed into a formidable fighting force. However, it lacked the expertise and resources to conduct maritime operations, complicating its efforts to secure its periphery. Over the course of a relatively short period, however, PLA leaders undertook a series of crucial reforms that laid the groundwork for the modern Chinese navy, allowing it to seize several offshore islands from its Nationalist rivals. In Mao's Army Goes to Sea, Yoshihara provides an unprecedented look at this transformation, using primary sources to gain insights into the leaders and doctrines behind the establishment of the People's Liberation Army Navy. What factors shaped the development of the PLAN? Who were the key figures in this process? What can this period teach us about the modern Chinese navy? This discussion will cover these questions and more.

This event will be moderated by GTI Executive Director Russell Hsiao.

If you are interested in purchasing the book, you can learn more here: http://press.georgetown.edu/book/georgetown/maos-army-goes-sea

About the Author:

Toshi Yoshihara is a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), as well as a member of the Global Taiwan Institute’s Advisory Board. He previously held the John A. van Beuren Chair of Asia-Pacific Studies and was a professor of strategy at the US Naval War College. Dr. Yoshihara has served as a visiting professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University; the School of Global Policy and Strategy, University of California, San Diego; and the Strategy Department of the US Air War College. He currently teaches a graduate course on sea power in the Indo-Pacific at the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. In 2016 he was awarded the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award in recognition of his scholarship on maritime and strategic affairs at the Naval War College. He holds a PhD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, an MA from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University, and a BSFS from the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University.

Host or Publisher Global Taiwan Institute