| A2/AD | antiaccess/access denial |
| AAW | antiair warfare |
| ASBM | antiship ballistic missile |
| ASCM | antiship cruise missile |
| ASUW | antisurface warfare |
| ASW | antisubmarine warfare |
| BMD | ballistic missile defense |
| CBSA | Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments |
| CCP | Chinese Communist Party |
| CMSI | China Maritime Studies Institute |
| CNO | chief of naval operations |
| CVN | nuclear-powered carrier |
| DDH | helicopter destroyer |
| EEZ | exclusive economic zone |
| EMP | electromagnetic pulse |
| ICBM | intercontinental ballistic missile |
| JMSDF | Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force |
| MAD | mutual assured destruction |
| MaRV | maneuvering reentry vehicles |
| MRBM | medium-range ballistic missiles |
| PLA | People’s Liberation Army |
| PLA Navy | People’s Liberation Army Navy |
| PRC | People’s Republic of China |
| PSI | Proliferation Security Initiative |
| SLBM | submarine-launched ballistic missile |
| SLOC | sea lines of communication |
| SOSUS | Sound Surveillance System |
| SSBN | nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarine |
| SSN | nuclear-powered attack submarines |
| TBM | theater ballistic missile |
| VSTOL | very short takeoff and landing |
