Andrew S. Erickson

A thought-provoking analysis of China’s potential ambitions regarding distant waters and rationale for its recent spate of large warship construction. As the authors rightly imply: While warships may be used in practice for many purposes, including humanitarian cooperation, they are extremely expensive and challenging to acquire, maintain, and ultimately retire. National leaders typically make the […]

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If you haven’t yet read this fascinating and revealing analysis, I strongly recommend that you do so immediately!
Ryan Martinson and Katsuya Yamamoto, “Three PLAN Officers May Have Just Revealed What China Wants in the South China Sea,” The National Interest, 9 July 2017.
Chinese strategy in the South China Sea is expansionary in aim, incremental by […]

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Here’s a great opportunity for two scholars to join a world-class research community in a prime location. Do you (or someone you know) have years of experience in warfare analysis, excellent critical thinking skills, and a desire to work closely with the best in the field? Getting tired of a Beltway commute or working from […]

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Chinese Naval Shipbuilding: An Ambitious and Uncertain Course
Andrew S. Erickson, ed. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2016. $39.95. 357 pp.
“According to the editor, China’s naval shipbuilding industry is an overlooked element in the country’s overall growth strategy and policy goals. The contributors – comprising sailors, scholars and industry professionals – seek to assess China’s prospects […]

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My latest peer-reviewed article has just been published in the newest print issue of Journal of Strategic Studies. I coauthored it with Professor Adam P. Liff of Indiana University. We address the important but under-studied subjects of Japan’s National Security Council (NSC), its post-2012 institutional reforms, and Sino-Japanese crisis (in)stability. In doing so, we analyze the […]

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Through June 2017, the China Real Time Report (中国实时报) website offered pithy insights from Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones reporters as well as from a team of specialized “expert contributor” commentators knowledgeable about the latest developments in such fields as Chinese law, policy, economics, and culture. It was my great honor to be a member […]

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National Air and Space Intelligence Center, Ballistic and Cruise Missile Threat (Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH, 2017).
Click here to read the full text of the report. 
Issued four years after the previous iteration, this detailed report is to be welcomed. Perhaps due to the vagaries of bureaucratic processes, it may not mesh perfectly with other official statements, but […]

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Peter A. Dutton and Ryan D. Martinson, eds., China’s Evolving Surface Fleet, Naval War College China Maritime Study 14 (July 2017).

This edited volume focuses on the development of China’s surface navy, the roles and missions of this evolving fleet, and the strategic ramifications of such development. Major themes include the capacity, organization and control, and support of China’s […]

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Review of Andrew S. Erickson, ed., Chinese Naval Shipbuilding: An Ambitious and Uncertain Course (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2016), Ausmarine (May/June 2017): 60.
For nearly two centuries until recently, China went mostly backwards in terms of maritime activity. However, since around 2000, it has powered ahead to the point that it has become the world’s biggest […]

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Andrew S. Erickson, “New Pentagon China Report Highlights the Rise of Beijing’s Maritime Militia,” The National Interest, 7 June 2017.
Pentagon experts have finally keyed in on one of the most important aspects of China’s strategy to dominate the waterways of the Asia-Pacific.
Issued yesterday, the Pentagon’s annual report to Congress on China’s military and security developments contains a […]

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Josh Chin, “China Attacks Pentagon Report, Laments U.S. ‘Cold War Mentality’,” Wall Street Journal, 7 June 2017.
Beijing dismisses Defense Department warning about Chinese military’s ambitions outside Asia
… The Pentagon report… for the first time examined China’s “maritime militia,” a growing civilian fleet staffed by military-trained fishermen that Beijing uses for “low-intensity coercion” in defending its […]

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In a long-overdue and welcome breakthrough, the Pentagon’s latest report on China’s Military and Security Developments contains substantial content on China’s Maritime Militia.
Previously, China’s Maritime Militia was mentioned by Ronald O’Rourke in his Congressional Research Service report and by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, which recommended that the Department of Defense address this […]

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Since I couldn’t find a single-source location on the Internet, I decided to make my own. Now you can download PDFs of the Department of Defense’s China reports directly by year:
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
 
Additionally, here are some highlights from, and analysis of, several of the most recent reports:
2016
Andrew S. Erickson, “How Good Are They? The Latest Insights Into […]

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Click here to read the full text of the 2017 report.
Office of the Secretary of Defense, Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2017 (Arlington, VA: Department of Defense, 6 June 2017).

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This volume commemorates the Fairbank Center’s 60th anniversary.
Jennifer Rudolph and Michael Szonyi, eds., The China Questions: Critical Insights into a Rising Power (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, forthcoming December 2017).
From the Publisher:
About the Editors
Jennifer Rudolph is Associate Professor of modern Chinese political history at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Michael Szonyi is Professor of Chinese History at Harvard University.
About the Book
Many books […]

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Andrew S. Erickson and Austin M. Strange, “China’s Resource Drive into the South China Sea,” in Timothy C. Lehmann, ed., The Geopolitics of Global Energy: The New Cost of Plenty (New York: Lynne Rienner, 2017), 131–52.
VOLUME INFORMATION & INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER SUMMARY
China’s consistently high economic growth in the postreform era has been accompanied by burgeoning energy demands […]

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Daniel R. Coats, Director of National Intelligence, Statement for the Record, “Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community,” Senate Armed Services Committee, 23 May 2017.
 (Information available as of April 24, 2017 was used in the preparation of this assessment.)
Please scroll down for an outline of the contents, as well as key excerpts that I […]

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Republic of Korea, 2016 Defense White Paper (Seoul: Ministry of National Defense, May 2017).
This report represents a solid effort by Seoul, and well worth your time to read. The report addresses major issues head on, with accompanying infographics. It also offers some fascinating details with which you may not be familiar. As part of “reducing […]

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Ryan D. Martinson, The Arming of China’s Maritime Frontier, China Maritime Report 2 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, June 2017).
China’s expansion in maritime East Asia has relied heavily on non-naval elements of sea power, above all white-hulled constabulary forces. This reflects a strategic decision. Coast guard vessels operating on the basis of routine […]

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