Andrew S. Erickson

Coauthored by CMSI’s Director, Deputy Director, and Founding Director!
Daniel Caldwell, Joseph Freda, and Lyle Goldstein, China’s Dreadnought? The PLA Navy’s Type 055 Cruiser and Its Implications for the Future Maritime Security Environment, China Maritime Report 5 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, February 2020).
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Summary
China’s naval modernization, a […]

Ronald O’Rourke, Renewed Great Power Competition: Implications for Defense—Issues for Congress, R43838 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 31 January 2020).
If you have trouble accessing the website above, please download a cached copy here.
You can also click here to access the report via the new public CRS website.
Summary
Many observers have concluded that the post-Cold War era […]

Now in its 99th iteration, not far behind its counterpart on PLA Navy development, this report is indispensable for policy-makers and analysts alike!

Ronald O’Rourke, U.S.-China Strategic Competition in South and East China Seas: Implications for U.S. Interests—Background and Issues for Congress, R42784 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 28 January 2020).
If you have trouble accessing the website above, please download […]

This latest iteration of new streamlined version includes an updated table and discussion for busy readers seeking the latest on PLAN force structure development, plus some China Coast Guard ship numbers for good measure! 
Ronald O’Rourke, China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress, RL33153 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 22 January 2020).

If you have trouble […]

Conor M. Kennedy, Civil Transport in PLA Power Projection, China Maritime Report 4 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, December 2019).
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has ambitious goals for its power projection capabilities. Aside from preparing for the possibility of using force to resolve Beijing’s territorial claims in East Asia, it is also charged […]

Now in its 95th iteration, this report is indispensable for policy-makers and analysts alike!

Ronald O’Rourke, U.S.-China Strategic Competition in South and East China Seas: Implications for U.S. Interests—Background and Issues for Congress, R42784 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 20 December 2019).
If you have trouble accessing the website above, please download a cached copy here.
You can also click here to […]

This latest iteration of new streamlined version includes an updated table and discussion for busy readers seeking the latest on PLAN force structure development, plus some China Coast Guard ship numbers for good measure! 
Ronald O’Rourke, China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress, RL33153 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 20 December 2019).

If you have trouble […]

陸德芙 [Jennifer Rudolph] and 宋怡明 [Michael Szonyi], 編 [Editors]; 余江 [Yu Jiang] and 鄭言 [Zheng Yan], 譯 [Translators], 中國36問—對一個崛起大國的洞察 [The China Questions: Critical Insights into a Rising Power] (香港 [Hong Kong]: 香港城市大學出版社 [City University of Hong Kong Press], 2019).

Traditional Chinese translation of my chapter in this volume: 艾立信 [Andrew S. Erickson], “中國的軍事力量有多強大?” [How Strong Are China’s Armed Forces?], in […]

Ronald O’Rourke, U.S.-China Strategic Competition in South and East China Seas: Implications for U.S. Interests—Background and Issues for Congress, R42784 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 26 November 2019).
If you have trouble accessing the website above, please download a cached copy here.
You can also click here to access the report via the new public CRS website.
 
KEY EXCERPTS:
USE OF CHINA COAST GUARD […]

Chris Rahman, Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources & Security; review of Andrew S. Erickson and Ryan D. Martinson, eds., China’s Maritime Gray Zone Operations (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2019); Marine Policy 110 (December 2019).
China’s Maritime Gray Zone Operations is the seventh edited volume in the Studies in Chinese Maritime Development series published in collaboration with […]

This latest iteration of new streamlined version includes an updated table and discussion for busy readers seeking the latest on PLAN force structure development, plus some China Coast Guard ship numbers for good measure! 
Ronald O’Rourke, China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress, RL33153 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 18 November 2019).

If you have trouble […]

The pathbreaking exposé of Xinjiang policy under Xi just published by Austin Ramzy and Chris Buckley in The New York Times contains the following reference to a decades-old organization that continues to undergird PRC development and control of the long-repressed region:
“In the 2014 speeches, Mr. Xi had singled out southern Xinjiang as the front line […]

A Free and Open Indo-Pacific: Advancing a Shared Vision

A Free and Open Indo-Pacific: Advancing a Shared Vision (Washington, DC: Department of State, 4 November 2019).
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 p. 4
Secretary of State Michael Pompeo:
President Donald J. Trump has made U.S. engagement in the Indo-Pacific region a top priority of his Administration. In November […]

2019 Report to Congress of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, First Session, 14 November 2019.
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Report PDFs
2019 Annual Report to Congress
2019 Executive Summary
2019 Recommendations to Congress

2019 in Review

Chapter 1 Section 1- Year in Review, Economics and Trade
Chapter 1 Section 2- Year […]

Gordon Arthur, “Eclipsing the Competition,” Naval Warfare International 2.6 (November/December 2019): 9-13.
“Regarding the modernisation of China’s navy, which celebrated its 70th anniversary in April, Andrew Erickson, professor of strategy at the US Naval War College, told Shephard: ‘Chinese naval development enjoys top-level support, starting with [President] Xi himself. China has the world’s largest shipbuilding […]

The international community keeps a close watch on China’s security policy and its military trends. The Japanese public has been increasingly aware of the large impact of China’s rising military (and economic) power that may have a huge impact on Japanese security. China, now the second largest economy in the world, has become an essentially […]

Here I argue that that the People’s Republic of China under Xi has the grandest, most strategic vision of any great power today. Beijing’s strategy has a broadly-defined arc that Washington should address with its own strategy of pursuing “competitive coexistence” to safeguard American interests sustainably amid increasing PRC assertiveness.
Andrew S. Erickson, “Make China Great […]

INFORMATION & ANALYSIS CONCERNING CHINA’S MARITIME MILITIA:

Tracking China’s “Little Blue Men”—A Comprehensive Maritime Militia Compendium
Rarely is a topic so little recognized and so little understood, yet so important and so amenable to research using Chinese-language open sources… To increase awareness and understanding of this important subject, here is a convenient compendium of major publications and […]

People often ask how I ended up pursuing the extremely fulfilling, and somewhat esoteric, career that I’m so fortunate to enjoy now. The two-word answer is: “Joe Gavin.” Best known as the Program Director for the Apollo Lunar Module that landed the first—and thus far only—twelve men on the moon, he also happened to be my grandfather. Hearing […]