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.

11 March 2011

An Air Force Strategic Vision for 2020-2030

Gen. John A. Shaud, USAF (Ret.) and Adam B. Lowther, “An Air Force Strategic Vision for 2020-2030,” Strategic Studies Quarterly 5.1 (Spring 2011): 8-31.
 Two decades of continuous operations that began with Desert Shield/Desert Storm (1990–91) and continued to the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq have resulted in Airmen engaged in responding to current opera­tions, leaving […]

11 March 2011

“Diego Garcia and the United States’ Emerging Indian Ocean Strategy” (Asian Security) Cited in Wikipedia

Andrew S. Erickson, Walter C. Ladwig III, and Justin D. Mikolay, “Diego Garcia and the United States’ Emerging Indian Ocean Strategy,” Asian Security, Vol. 6, No. 3 (Autumn 2010), pp. 214-37.
Cited in “Diego Garcia,” Wikipedia.
Diego Garcia is a tropical, footprint-shaped coral atoll located south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean at seven degrees, […]

11 March 2011

Understanding China’s Defense Budget: What it Means, and Why it Matters

Andrew S. Erickson and Adam P. Liff, “Understanding China’s Defense Budget: What it Means, and Why it Matters,” PacNet 16 (9 March 2011).
Andrew S. Erickson [andrew.erickson@usnwc.edu] is an Associate Professor in the Naval War College’s China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI). His research websites are www.andrewerickson.com and www.chinasignpost.com.
Adam P. Liff [apl@princeton.edu] is a Ph.D. Candidate in […]

11 March 2011

Implications of China’s Military Evacuation of Citizens from Libya

Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “Implications of China’s Military Evacuation of Citizens from Libya,” Jamestown China Brief 11.4 (10 March 2011): 8–10.
The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) made history with the news on February 25 that the frigate Xuzhou, one of the navy’s most modern warships, had been dispatched to waters near Libya to […]

09 March 2011

China SignPost™ (洞察中国) #28: China’s Economic & Strategic Interests in CENTCOM’s Area of Responsibility: Assessment and policy recommendations

Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “China’s Economic & Strategic Interests in CENTCOM’s Area of Responsibility: Assessment and Policy Recommendations,” China SignPost™ (洞察中国) 28 (9 March 2011).
China SignPost™ 洞察中国–“Clear, high-impact China analysis.”©
China’s recent operation to evacuate its citizens in Libya saw PLA ships and aircraft pass through the U.S. Central Command’s (CENTCOM) area of responsibility (AOR), suggesting […]

08 March 2011

Craig Covault, Aerospace America: “China’s Military Space Surge”

Craig Covault, “China’s Military Space Surge,” Aerospace America (March 2011): 32-37.
Expert analysts say China is accelerating its military space program to target U.S. aircraft carriers. The surge in development and launch activities has caught the attention of the U.S. secretary of defense and has begun to affect DOD planning. Yet very little U.S. or political […]

07 March 2011

NPR: “Obama to Name Commerce Secretary Locke Ambassador to China”

“Obama to Name Commerce Secretary Locke Ambassador to China,” National Public Radio, 7 March 2011.
President Obama is going to make history Tuesday by naming Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to be U.S. ambassador to China, making him the first American of known Chinese ancestry to be named to that post.
Several news outlets are reporting that the […]

04 March 2011

Wall Street Journal: China Defense Budget to Increase by 12.7% to 601.1 Billion Yuan (US$91.4 billion) for 2011

Jason Dean, “China Defense Budget to Increase by 12.7%,” Wall Street Journal, 4 March 2011.
BEIJING—China’s government plans to increase its defense budget by 12.7% this year, a pickup from last year’s sharply slower growth that comes amid widening concerns about the capabilities and intentions of China’s military.
China expects to spend 601.1 billion yuan ($91.4 billion) […]

01 March 2011

Cited in The Economist, Asia View Blog: “Setting Sail for Libya”

J.M., “Setting Sail for Libya,” Asia View Blog, The Economist, 1 March 2011.
For a fast rising power, China remains unusually shy about military deployment beyond its shores. But its decision to dispatch four military transport aircraft to Libya and a guided-missile frigate to waters nearby suggests that it might be rethinking its posture. The Ilyushin-76 […]

01 March 2011

PLA Air Force IL-76 Transport Aircraft Land in Khartoum, Sudan En Route to Libya

滚动频道首页 > 媒体新闻滚动_搜狐资讯
中国空军运输机抵达喀土穆承担撤侨任务(组图)
来源:新华网
2011年03月01日20:09
作者:穆罕默德·巴比克尔3月1日,承担撤侨任务的中国空军运输机在苏丹喀土穆国际机场降落。经中央军委批准,空军2月28日派出4架伊尔-76飞机,经苏丹首都喀土穆赴利比亚执行接运中国在利比亚人员回国的任务。
新华社发(穆罕默德·巴比克尔摄)3月1日,承担撤侨任务的中国空军运输机在苏丹喀土穆国际机场降落。经中央军委批准,空军2月28日派出4架伊尔-76飞机,经苏丹首都喀土穆赴利比亚执行接运中国在利比亚人员回国的任务。新华社发(穆罕默德·巴比克尔摄)
For details on the air component of military support for China’s evacuation operations, see Gabe Collins and Andrew Erickson, “The PLA Air Force’s First Overseas Operational Deployment: Analysis of China’s decision to deploy IL-76 transport aircraft to Libya,” China SignPost™ (洞察中国), No. 27 (1 March 2011).

For more details on Beijing’s dispatching of the frigate […]

01 March 2011

Xinhua: “Chinese Navy Frigate Arrives Waters off Libya for Escort Mission”

“Chinese Navy Frigate Arrives Waters off Libya for Escort Mission,” Xinhua, 1 March 2011.
Updated: 2011-03-01 20:00:00
BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhua) — A Chinese navy frigate has already reached mission waters off Libya on Tuesday to offer support and protection for ships evacuating Chinese nationals.
The frigate, Xuzhou, met with a Greek merchant vessel chartered by the Chinese […]

01 March 2011

China SignPost™ (洞察中国) #27: “The PLA Air Force’s First Overseas Operational Deployment: Analysis of China’s decision to deploy IL-76 transport aircraft to Libya”

Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “The PLA Air Force’s First Overseas Operational Deployment: Analysis of China’s decision to Deploy IL-76 Transport Aircraft to Libya,” China SignPost™ (洞察中国) 27 (1 March 2011).
China SignPost™ 洞察中国–“Clear, high-impact China analysis.”©
China’s evacuation of its citizens from Libya became a multi-service operation on the afternoon of 28 February 2011, when the […]

01 March 2011

China’s Increasing Air Power: Implications for the Republic of Korea Air Force

Andrew S. Erickson, “China’s Increasing Air Power: Implications for the Republic of Korea Air Force,” in 김기정, 문정인, 최종건 [Kim Ki Jong, Moon Chung In, and Choi Jong Kun, eds.], 한반도 안보환경 변화와 항공우주력의 진화 [Changes in the Security Environment and the Evolution of Air Power on the Korean Peninsula], 연세대공군력연구총서 [Yonsei University Air Force Studies […]

28 February 2011

Jason Miks, The Diplomat: “‘Osama Bin Laden Did It’”

Jason Miks, “‘Osama Bin Laden Did It’,” The Diplomat, 25 February 2011.
While Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi takes a further step from reality by blaming the unrest in his country on al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, there are a couple of interesting China-related developments I wanted to mention before the weekend.

The first relates to an interesting […]

28 February 2011

Zhongping News Agency: China’s Air Force Sends 4 IL-76 Military Transport Aircraft to Evacuate Chinese Nationals from Libya

中国空军派4架飞机接运中国在利比亚人员

http://www.chinareviewnews.com 2011-02-28 17:47:33

中评社北京2月28日电/国防部新闻事务局透露,经中央军委批准,空军派出4架伊尔-76飞机,于2月28日飞赴利比亚执行接运中国在利比亚人员的任务
For more details on Beijing’s dispatching of the frigate Xuzhou to escort ships transporting Chinese citizens from Libya, see:
Gabe Collins and Andrew Erickson, “Missile Frigate Xuzhou Transits Suez Canal, to Arrive off Libya ~Wednesday 2 March: China’s first operational deployment to Mediterranean addresses Libya’s evolving security situation,” China SignPost™ (洞察中国), No. 26 (27 February 2011).
Gabe […]

28 February 2011

Evan Osnos, The New Yorker: “The Chinese Navy, Zambian Copper, and Libya”

Evan Osnos, “The Chinese Navy, Zambian Copper, and Libya,” Letter from China: Dispatches from Evan Osnos (Blog), The New Yorker, 28 February 2011.
…Zambia is hardly the only place that Chinese ventures have encountered security trouble in recent years. According to a tally published last August in a valuable report by the security analysts Andrew Erickson and […]

28 February 2011

China SignPost™ (洞察中国) #26–Missile Frigate Xuzhou Transits Suez Canal, to Arrive off Libya ~Wednesday 2 March: China’s first operational deployment to Mediterranean addresses Libya’s evolving security situation

Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “Missile Frigate Xuzhou Transits Suez Canal, to Arrive off Libya ~Wednesday 2 March: China’s First Operational Deployment to Mediterranean Addresses Libya’s Evolving Security Situation,” China SignPost™ (洞察中国) 26 (27 February 2011).
China SignPost™ 洞察中国–“Clear, high-impact China analysis.”©
Current situation
Libya’s security situation is becoming increasingly volatile as embattled leader Col. Muammar […]

27 February 2011

China SignPost™ (洞察中国) #18: “China’s New Project 718/J-20 Fighter: Development outlook and strategic implications” Cited in Wikipedia

Gabe Collins and Andrew Erickson, “China’s New Project 718/J-20 Fighter: Development outlook and strategic implications,” China SignPost™ (洞察中国), No. 18 (17 January 2011).

Cited in “Chengdu J-20,” Wikipedia.
The Chengdu J-20 (simplified Chinese: 歼二十; traditional Chinese: 殲二十; pinyin: Jiān èr shí; literally “Annihilator Twenty”) is a fifth generation stealth, twin-engine fighter aircraft prototype developed by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force.[5][6] In […]

27 February 2011

South China Morning Post: “PLA Navy Sends Warship to Safeguard Libya Evacuees–Frigate Diverted from Anti-Piracy Patrols to Protect Chinese”

Greg Torode and Minnie Chan, “PLA Navy Sends Warship to Safeguard Libya Evacuees–Frigate Diverted from Anti-Piracy Patrols to Protect Chinese,” South China Morning Post, 26 February 2011.
…The missile frigate Xuzhou is under orders to “support and protect” the more than 30,000 Chinese nationals being evacuated from Libya on civilian ships as the regime of Colonel […]