A major announcement today from the National People’s Congress in Beijing: China’s defense budget will grow by 8.1% to ~$175 billion (1.11 trillion yuan) this year, a rate increase from the 7% in 2017. This latest raise represents a reversal of three years of slowing growth. It exceeds this year’s economic growth target of ~6.5%.
Here’s […]
Andrew S. Erickson, “Numbers Matter: China’s Three ‘Navies’ Each Have the World’s Most Ships,” The National Interest, 26 February 2018.
Numerical superiority allows China’s second and third sea forces to flood the maritime gray zone in ways that its neighbors, as well as the United States, may find very hard to counter.
As a friend’s five-year-old puts it, […]
Statement of Admiral Harry B. Harris Jr., U.S. Navy, Commander, U.S. Pacific Command, before the House Armed Services Committee on U.S. Pacific Command Posture, Washington, DC, 14 February 2018.
“Across the South China Sea, China’s air force, navy, coast guard, and maritime militia all maintain a robust presence. Routine patrols and exercises ensure Chinese forces are […]
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 […]
“Chapter 6: Asia,” The Military Balance 118:1 (London: International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2018), 259.
p. 259
“Maritime Militia
Made up of full- and part-time personnel. Reports to PLA command and trains to assist PLAN and CCG in a variety of military roles. These include ISR, maritime law enforcement, island supply, troop transport and supporting sovereignty claims. The […]
Join the editors and contributors to The China Questions for a book launch at the Harvard Coop’s Event Series.
DATE AND TIME
Wed, February 7, 2018
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM EST
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LOCATION
Harvard Coop
1400 Mass Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
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Join editors Jennifer Rudolph and Michael Szonyi, and contributors Peter Bol, Andrew Erickson, Susan Greenhalgh, Wai-yee Li, and Karen Thornber, at the […]
Nuclear Posture Review (Arlington, VA: Office of the Secretary of Defense, February 2018).
Click here to download a full-text PDF of the officially-released report.
Read Executive Summary in English, РУССКИЙ, 中文, 한국어, 日本語, or FRANÇAIS.
Key China-Related Excerpts:
p. 2
The United States remains committed to its efforts in support of the ultimate global elimination of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. […]
From SupChina: “Your brain needs expanding, and you need to buy gifts for your smart friends! We’re here to help with our selection of books recommended by our editors.”
“All the books on our [2017 winter reading] list have been published within the past six months. If you think we’ve left out something important, please let […]
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 […]
Self-Study Syllabus on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (American Mandarin Society, 15 January 2018).
Suggest edits here.
“This syllabus is organized to build understanding of the PLA in a step-by-step fashion based on one hour of reading five nights a week for four weeks. In total, the key readings add up to roughly 800 pages, rarely more than […]
Ronald O’Rourke, Maritime Territorial and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Disputes Involving China: Issues for Congress, R42784 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 12 December 2017).
If you have trouble accessing the website above, please download a cached copy here.
KEY EXCERPTS:
1972 CONVENTION ON PREVENTING COLLISIONS AT SEA (COLREGs)………………………………… 14
p. 14
1972 Convention on Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs)
China and the United States, as […]
Ronald O’Rourke, China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress, RL33153 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 13 December 2017).
If you have trouble accessing the website above, please download a cached copy here.
Summary
The question of how the United States should respond to China’s military modernization effort, including its naval modernization effort, is a key issue in […]
106年國防報告書 [2017 National Defense Report] (台北 [Taipei]: 中華民國國防部 [Republic of China, Ministry of National Defense], December 2017).
Click here to download the full-text Chinese-language version.
The Chinese-language cartoon version (to engage a popular audience) is available here.
Click here to access a complete bilingual set of biannual reports dating back to 1992.
Initial media coverage here and here.
序言
中華民國長期以來，是亞太地區維持和平、穩定和繁榮的重要成員。雖然， 我國與周邊國家皆無正式邦交，但我們以友善、誠信、互惠的原則，遂行實質
的交流，來構建一個穩定的安全環境，積極對區域安全、甚至國際社會，提供 […]
Arthur S. Ding; review of Andrew S. Erickson, ed., Chinese Naval Shipbuilding: An Ambitious and Uncertain Course (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2016); The China Journal 79 (January 2018): 195-197.
Chinese Naval Shipbuilding: An Ambitious and Uncertain Course, edited by Andrew S. Erickson. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2016. vii+ 357 pp. US$39.95 (cloth).
In his introduction, Andrew S. […]
National Security Strategy of the United States of America 2017 (Washington, DC: The White House, December 2017).
Click here for Announcement & Summary.
Click here for Talking Points.
Click here for Q&A.
Click here for Fact Sheet.
Click here to download the full text. In case you have any difficulty accessing that version, here’s a cached copy.
OVERVIEW:
A NEW NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY […]
I wish this top-caliber team all possible energy, as they will surely be asked to update this important report constantly in light of new developments!
Kathleen J. McInnis, Andrew Feickert, Mark E. Manyin, Steven A. Hildreth, Mary Beth D. Nikitin, and Emma Chanlett-Avery, The North Korean Nuclear Challenge: Military Options and Issues for Congress R44994 (Washington, […]
Professor Michael Chase, my former Naval War College colleague, has both extensive U.S. government experience and a set of publications that are well worth reading. It has been a great honor and pleasure to collaborate with him on multiple research and writing projects over the past decade. If you are a student at Georgetown or […]
Andrew S. Erickson, “China’s Maritime Ambitions,” in Sumit Ganguly, Andrew Scobell, and Joseph Liow, Routledge Handbook of Asian Security Studies, 2nd ed. (New York: Routledge, 2017), 100-114.
Introduction
Maritime forces are on the leading edge of China’s military modernization, both programmatically and geographically. They offer vital tools for to achieve progressively diminishing ripples of control in the Near Seas […]
Andrew S. Erickson, “How Strong Are China’s Armed Forces?” in Jennifer Rudolph and Michael Szonyi, eds., The China Questions: Critical Insights into a Rising Power (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2018), 73–80.
Simplified Chinese translation: 艾立信 [Andrew S. Erickson], “中国的军事力量有多强大?” [How Strong Are China’s Armed Forces?], in 陆德芙 [Jennifer Rudolph] and 宋怡明 [Michael Szonyi], 编 [Editors]; 余江 [Yu Jiang] and 郑言 [Zheng Yan], 译 [Translators]; 中国36问—对一个崛起大国的洞察 [The China Questions: Critical Insights into a Rising […]
Chinese Undersea Warfare: Development, Capabilities, Trends
Maritime Gray Zone Operations: Challenges and Countermeasures in the Indo-Pacific
Oxford Bibliography: “The People’s Liberation Army (PLA)”
China’s Climate Cooperation Smokescreen: A Roadmap for Seeing Through the Trap and Countering with Competition
Large-Scale Amphibious Warfare in Chinese Military Strategy
Rebalancing U.S. Forces: Basing and Forward Presence in the Asia-Pacific
China’s Near Seas Combat Capabilities
Chinese Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile (ASBM) Development: Drivers, Trajectories and Strategic Implications
Asia’s Rising Energy and Resource Nationalism: Implications for the United States, China, and the Asia-Pacific Region
Chinese Aerospace Power: Evolving Maritime Roles
China’s S-Curve Trajectory: Structural Factors Will Likely Slow the Growth of China’s Economy and Comprehensive National Power
China, the United States, and 21st-Century Sea Power: Defining a Maritime Security Partnership
China Goes to Sea: Maritime Transformation in Comparative Historical Perspective
China’s Energy Strategy: The Impact on Bejing’s Maritime Policies
China’s Future Nuclear Submarine Force
Chinese Mine Warfare: A PLA Navy 'Assassin’s Mace' Capability
China’s Nuclear Force Modernization
