Andrew S. Erickson is a professor of strategy in the Naval War College (NWC)'s China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) and an associate in research at Harvard's Fairbank Center. The recipient of NWC's inaugural Research Excellence Award, he runs the China studies website www.andrewerickson.com.

Ryan D. Martinson is an assistant professor at CMSI. He holds a master's degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a bachelor of science from Union College. Martinson has also studied at Fudan University, the Beijing Language and Culture University, and the Hopkins-Nanjing Center.

China's maritime "gray zone" operations represent a new challenge for the U.S. Navy and the sea services of our allies, partners, and friends in maritime East Asia. There, Beijing is waging what some Chinese sources term a "war without gunsmoke." Already winning in important areas, China could gain far more if left unchecked. One of China's greatest advantages thus far has been foreign difficulty in understanding the situation, let alone determining an effective response. With contributions from some of the world's leading subject matter experts, this volume aims to close that gap by explaining the forces and doctrines driving China's paranaval expansion, operating in the "gray zone" between war and peace.

The book covers China's major maritime forces beyond core gray-hulled Navy units, with particular focus on China's second and third sea forces: the "white-hulled" Coast Guard and "blue-hulled" Maritime Militia. Increasingly, these paranaval forces, and the "gray zone" in which they typically operate, are on the frontlines of China's seaward expansion.