Hi! Welcome...

Andrew S. Erickson China's rapid development is reshaping the world in all dimensions. Chinese language open sources offer insights into these critical trends. While such materials are increasing constantly in number, diversity, and sophistication, only a fraction is available in English. The analyses available here, many based on sources not previously considered outside China, are designed to help bridge that gap--and thereby increase understanding of the most dynamic great power in the international system today.

30 March 2010

Eyes in the Sky: Emerging Chinese Space-Based ISR, Potentially Relevant to ASBM

Andrew S. Erickson, “Eyes in the Sky,” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings 136.4 (April 2010): 36-41.
With 15 new satellites launched in 2008 alone and an ambitious program to produce more space-based surveillance technology, China is increasing its ability to monitor its near seas with deadly precision.
China is developing increasingly capable naval platforms, aircraft, and missiles that could […]

29 March 2010

China Testing Ballistic Missile ‘Carrier-Killer’

Andrew Erickson, “China Testing Ballistic Missile ‘Carrier-Killer’,” Danger Room, Wired.com, March 29, 2010.
Last week, Adm. Robert Willard, the head of U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM), made an alarming, but little-noticed disclosure. China, he told legislators, was “developing and testing a conventional anti-ship ballistic missile based on the DF-21/CSS-5 [medium-range ballistic missile] designed specifically to target aircraft […]

29 March 2010

“The Motherlode” on Chinese ASBM Development

“‘The Motherlode’ on Chinese ASBM Development,” Facing China, 29 March 2010.
…The part [of Admiral Willard’s testimony] that was so provocative to China ASBM-watchers was the use of the word “testing.”  Dr. Andrew S. Erickson, Associate Professor in the Strategic Research Department at the U.S. Naval War College and a founding member of the department’s China Maritime […]

19 March 2010

Rousing China To Military Dominance

Isaac Stone Fish, “Rousing China To Military Dominance,” Wealth of Nations Blog, Newsweek, 19 March 2010.
…certain members of China’s military are publicly starting to itch for a more assertive role in international affairs. The latest hawkish call to arms is from Ling Mingfu, a senior colonel and professor at China’s National Defense University, whose new […]

15 March 2010

China’s Oil Security Pipe Dream: The Reality, and Strategic Consequences, of Seaborne Imports

Andrew S. Erickson and Gabriel B. Collins, “China’s Oil Security Pipe Dream: The Reality, and Strategic Consequences, of Seaborne Imports,” Naval War College Review 63.2 (Spring 2010): 88–111.
This article was required reading for the Naval War College National Security Decision Making Department’s Strategy and Theater Security course.
It is widely believed in China that overland pipelines would […]

15 March 2010

Book Review: Rising China and Its Postmodern Fate

Andrew S. Erickson, review of Charles Horner, Rising China and Its Postmodern Fate: Memories of Empire in a New Global Context (Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2009), Naval War College Review, 63.2 (Spring 2010): 145-47.
This book connects China’s past, present, and future and places them in a larger, evolving context. Horner’s work is nothing […]

12 March 2010

China’s Nuclear Warhead Storage and Handling System

Mark A. Stokes, “China’s Nuclear Warhead Storage and Handling System,” Project 2049 Institute, 12 March 2010.
This analysis uses original Chinese sources and Google Earth imagery to explore a previously understudied topic. It finds that China manages its nuclear warheads through a centralized storage and handling system with extensive security measures.

12 March 2010

Presented on PLAN Development at RSIS Conference, Singapore

“China’s Two-Level Navy: Bifurcated Development to Secure Specific Territorial Claims and Expansive Commerce,” presented at “China and East Asia Strategic Dynamics,” conference, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 12 March 2010.

05 March 2010

Review of China’s Energy Strategy in Joint Force Quarterly

Richard Desjardins, Canadian civil servant; review of Gabriel B. Collins, Andrew S. Erickson, Lyle J. Goldstein, and William S. Murray, eds., China’s Energy Strategy: The Impact on Beijing’s Maritime Policies (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2008); Joint Force Quarterly, issue 57, second quarter 2010, pp. 132-33.
“The China Maritime Studies Institute… is fast becoming a center […]

03 March 2010

“US Believes China is Poised to Field Ballistic Anti-Ship Missile”

Richard Scott, “US Believes China is Poised to Field Ballistic Anti-Ship Missile,” International Defence Review, International Defence Digest, 2 March 2010, www.janes.com.
•           Land-based DF-21D has potential to reach ranges of around 1,500 km
•           Chinese ASBM could be used to engage manoeuvring ships at extended ranges …
One assessment from the US Naval War College’s China Maritime […]

01 March 2010

“China’s Future Nuclear Submarine Force: Insights from Chinese Writings” Cited in Wikipedia

Andrew S. Erickson and Lyle J. Goldstein, “China’s Future Nuclear Submarine Force: Insights from Chinese Writings,” Naval War College Review 60.1 (Winter 2007): 54-79.
Cited in the following Wikipedia entries:
“Nuclear submarine”
“Submarines of the People’s Liberation Army Navy”
“Type 091 submarine”
“Type 092 submarine”
“Type 093 submarine”
“Type 095 submarine”
“Peng Pai”

01 March 2010

China’s Future Nuclear Submarine Force Cited in Wikipedia

Andrew S. Erickson, Lyle J. Goldstein, William S. Murray, and Andrew R. Wilson, eds., China’s Future Nuclear Submarine Force (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2007).
Cited in the following Wikipedia entry: “Type 094 submarine”

01 March 2010

“China’s New Jin-Class SSBN is ‘Relatively Noisy’”

Doug Richardson, “China’s New Jin-Class SSBN is ‘Relatively Noisy,’ According to US Intelligence,” Jane’s Missiles and Rockets, March 2010, pp. 6-7.
… China has been conducting advanced research into an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) programme since the 1990s … An article by Andrew S Erickson—a professor in the China Maritime Studies Institute at the US Naval […]

23 February 2010

“China Goes to Sea” Featured in Princeton Alumni Weekly

Summary of Andrew S. Erickson *06, Lyle J. Goldstein *02, and Carnes Lord, China Goes to Sea: Maritime Transformation in Comparative Historical Perspective (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2009), Princeton Alumni Weekly, 23 February 2010.

This book assesses China’s potential as a genuine maritime power, placing it in a world historical context next to cases of […]

20 February 2010

Andrew Krepinevich: “Why AirSea Battle?”

Andrew F. Krepinevich, “Why AirSea Battle?,” Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, 19 February 2010.
For well over half a century, the United States has been a global power with global interests. These interests include (but are not limited to) extending and defending democratic rule, maintaining access to key trading partners and resources, and […]

13 February 2010

Public Research Projects in Europe and East Asia: Cooperation or Competition? A Comparative Analysis of the ITER and Galileo Experiences

Frederik Ponjaert and Julien Béclard, “Public Research Projects in Europe and East Asia: Cooperation or Competition? A Comparative Analysis of the ITER and Galileo Experiences,” East Asia, Vol. 27, No. 1 (March 2010), pp. 99–125.
The projects discussed in this paper, Galileo and ITER, are two contrasting experiences of Euro-Asian cooperation within Very Large (Public) Scientific […]

10 February 2010

New Review of China Goes to Sea

Anonymous review of Andrew S. Erickson, Lyle J. Goldstein, and Carnes Lord, eds., China Goes to Sea: Maritime Transformation in Comparative Historical Perspective (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2009), 10 February 2010.
… First, something on the background to the book. In effect, it’s been produced by some of the leading lights of the increasingly impressive China […]

03 February 2010

No Game Changer for China

Captain Sam J. Tangredi, U.S. Navy (Ret.), “No Game Changer for China,” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, Vol. 136, No. 2 (February 2010), pp. 24-29.
“The specter of the Chinese antiship ballistic missile could be just that if the United States takes a serious look at updating existing technology and past successful programs. …
Even Andrew Erickson and […]

01 February 2010

China’s Aircraft Carrier Ambitions: An Update

Nan Li and Christopher Weuve, “China’s Aircraft Carrier Ambitions: An Update,” Naval War College Review, Vol. 63, No. 1 (Winter 2010), pp. 12-31.
This article will address two major analytical questions. First, what are the necessary and sufficient conditions for China to acquire aircraft carriers? Second, what are the major implications if China does acquire aircraft […]