Archive | 2015

01 June 2015

China’s Missed Opportunity at the Shangri-La Dialogue

Trenchant analysis by the ever-sharp Bonnie Glaser. She highlights what was indeed a missed opportunity for Beijing: Admiral Sun Jianguo’s “unwillingness to respond to any of the questions posed left the impression that China could care less about others’ concerns and will stay the course in the South China Sea regardless.” To me, the real […]

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31 May 2015

Speech by Admiral Sun Jianguo, Deputy Chief of PLA General Staff Department, at Shangri-La Dialogue–Full English & Chinese Texts Here

孙建国上将 [Admiral Sun Jianguo], 中国人民解放军副总参谋长 [Deputy Chief of PLA General Staff Department], “携手同护和平 共建安全亚太” [***Rough Translation***: Work Together With Care to Build a Peaceful and Secure Asia-Pacific], 在第十四届香格里拉对话会上的发言 [Speech at 14th Shangri-La Dialogue], Singapore, 国防部网 [China Ministry of National Defense Website], 31 May 2015.

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30 May 2015

The 2015 Chinese Defense White Paper on Strategy in Perspective: Maritime Missions Require a Change in the PLA Mindset

Superb analysis from Dennis Blasko on China’s recently released defense white paper on strategy. A disciplined adherent to what might be termed a strict “zero-based budgeting” approach to analysis, Blasko never makes statements that cannot be supported with extremely specific, contextualized, well-documented evidence. When he makes the bold, underlined statements below, therefore, everyone should pay […]

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30 May 2015

Speech by U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter at IISS Shangri-La Dialogue: 
“A Regional Security Architecture Where Everyone Rises”


SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ASH CARTER, 
“A REGIONAL SECURITY ARCHITECTURE WHERE EVERYONE RISES,” 
IISS SHANGRI-LA DIALOGUE, SINGAPORE, SATURDAY, MAY 30, 2015
Thank you, John, for that kind introduction. And thank you for sponsoring this remarkable forum. Over its history, IISS has hosted invaluable conversations like the Shangri-La Dialogue and produced important scholarship. Through it all, you’ve made […]

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29 May 2015

ChinaFile Conversation: “Did the Game Just Change in the South China Sea? (And What Should the U.S. Do About It?)”

Andrew S. Erickson, “Did the Game Just Change in the South China Sea? (And What Should the U.S. Do About It?),” A ChinaFile Conversation, The Asia Society, 29 May 2015.
As the 14th annual Asia Security Summit—or the Shangri-la Dialogue, as it has come to be known—gets underway in Singapore, we asked contributors to comment on what […]

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28 May 2015

Analyzing the Chinese Military: A Review Essay and Resource Guide on the People’s Liberation Army

I stand by my blurb most enthusiastically: “Uncertainty and limited data have left too much of PLA studies an artisanal hodgepodge. Peter Mattis helps bring the field into the information age with this invaluable resource. Required reading for all serious analysts of China security and students of qualitative methodology.”
Peter Mattis, Analyzing the Chinese Military: A Review […]

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26 May 2015

State Council Information Office Issues “China’s Military Strategy”—Beijing’s 1st White Paper on Military Strategy

China’s Military Strategy (Beijing: State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China, May 2015).
中国的军事战略 [China’s Military Strategy]
(Beijing: 中华人民共和国国务院新闻办公室 [State Council Information Office, PRC], May 2015).
Full Text: China’s Military Strategy
(Source: Xinhua)   2015-05-26
Sr. Col. Yang Yujun, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense (MND) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), briefs on China’s first white paper […]

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24 May 2015

Chris Cavas of Defense News Offers Key Takeaways from CMSI’s Conference on “China’s Naval Shipbuilding: Progress and Challenges”

Christopher P. Cavas, “China’s Navy Makes Strides, Work Remains to Be Done,” Defense News, 24 May 2015.
NEWPORT, R.I. — It’s no secret that China has embarked on a major modernization and expansion plan for its Navy, and its aggressive building program, coupled with the placing in service of more modern submarines, an aircraft carrier, destroyers […]

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20 May 2015

More Willing and Able: Charting China’s International Security Activism

Ely Ratner, Elbridge Colby, Andrew Erickson, Zachary Hosford, and Alexander Sullivan, More Willing and Able: Charting China’s International Security Activism (Washington, DC: Center for a New American Security, May 2015).
The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) Asia-Pacific Security Program has released a new report, More Willing and Able: Charting China’s International Security Activism. The report examines China’s […]

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11 May 2015

What Does the Pentagon Think about China’s Rising Military Might?

Andrew S. Erickson, “What Does the Pentagon Think about China’s Rising Military Might?” The National Interest, 11 May 2015.
Originally published as: Andrew S. Erickson, “China’s Emerging Competitive Edge: Pentagon Report Reveals Regionally-Potent Military with Growing Reach Beyond,” China Analysis from Original Sources 以第一手资料研究中国, 9 May 2015.
It’s that time of year again. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) […]

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11 May 2015

Interviewed by Michael Forsythe in New York Times Sinosphere: Dispatches from China on “China’s Military Goals and Capabilities”

Michael Forsythe, “Q. and A.: Andrew S. Erickson on China’s Military Goals and Capabilities,” Sinosphere: Dispatches from China, New York Times, 11 May 2015.
Every year, the United States Department of Defense must submit a report to Congress — a classified version and an unclassified one — on “military and security developments involving the People’s Republic of […]

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09 May 2015

China’s Emerging Competitive Edge: Pentagon Report Reveals Regionally-Potent Military with Growing Reach Beyond

Andrew S. Erickson, “China’s Emerging Competitive Edge: Pentagon Report Reveals Regionally-Potent Military with Growing Reach Beyond,” China Analysis from Original Sources 以第一手资料研究中国, 9 May 2015.
It’s that time of year again. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has just released its annual report on Chinese military and security issues. It documents important trends in this area using information […]

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09 May 2015

Clear Strengths, Fuzzy Weaknesses In China’s Massive Military Build-Up

Andrew S. Erickson, “Clear Strengths, Fuzzy Weaknesses In China’s Massive Military Build-Up,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 9 May 2015.
The U.S. Defense Department’s new assessment of China’s fighting ability paints a picture of a force in the midst of a broad-based modernization at a pace that other militaries would envy. It has increased its ability […]

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08 May 2015

Department of Defense Releases 2015 Report on China Military and Security Developments

Office of the Secretary of Defense, Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2015 (Arlington, VA: Department of Defense, 8 May 2015).
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) continues to pursue a long-term, comprehensive military modernization program designed to improve its armed forces’ capacity to fight short-duration, highintensity regional conflicts. Preparing for potential conflict […]

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06 May 2015

Chinese Cooperation to Protect Sea-Lane Security: Antipiracy Operations in the Gulf of Aden

Andrew S. Erickson and Austin M. Strange, “Chinese Cooperation to Protect Sea-Lane Security: Antipiracy Operations in the Gulf of Aden,” in Peter A. Dutton and Ryan D. Martinson, eds., Beyond the Wall: Chinese Far Seas Operations, Naval War College China Maritime Study 13 (May 2015): 33–41.

Antipiracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden represent a successful example of […]

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06 May 2015

CMSI ‘Red Book’ #13: “Beyond the Wall: Chinese Far Seas Operations”

Peter A. Dutton and Ryan D. Martinson, eds., Beyond the Wall: Chinese Far Seas Operations, Naval War College China Maritime Study 13 (May 2015).

Much has been written about Chinese sea power in the “near seas” of East Asia—those waters located within the chain of islands extending from the Kurils in the north to Sumatra in the south. This […]

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06 May 2015

Tanmen Militia: China’s “Maritime Rights Protection” Vanguard

Andrew S. Erickson and Conor M. Kennedy, “Tanmen Militia: China’s ‘Maritime Rights Protection’ Vanguard,” The National Interest, 6 May 2015.

The maritime militias built out of the fishing industry are becoming a major foreign policy tool for the consolidation of China’s claims.
Hainan Province is using the fishing industry as a launching pad for the nation’s consolidation […]

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01 May 2015

Review of Alan M. Wachman’s Landmark Book “Why Taiwan? Geostrategic Rationales for China’s Territorial Integrity”

Andrew S. Erickson; review of Alan M. Wachman, Why Taiwan? Geostrategic Rationales for China’s Territorial Integrity (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2007); Naval War College Review 68.3 (Summer 2015): 167-69.
Tufts Fletcher School Professor Alan Wachman was a giant in the China, East Asian studies, and international relations field who remains sorely missed following his untimely death […]

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01 May 2015

China’s Global Maritime Presence: Hard and Soft Dimensions of PLAN Antipiracy Operations

Andrew S. Erickson and Austin Strange, “China’s Global Maritime Presence: Hard and Soft Dimensions of PLAN Antipiracy Operations,” Jamestown China Brief 15.9 (1 May 2015).
The global antipiracy mission off Somalia, a hallmark for collective 21st-century international security, is gradually moving toward a close. There have been no successful Somali pirate attacks since 2012 and, barring a […]

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