Andrew S. Erickson

Summary translation: China demands freedom from the United States to collect intelligence in U.S. Exclusive Economic Zones in the name of U.S. principles and domestic laws. China denies the United States reciprocal freedoms in the name of China’s own domestic laws.
Such lack of reciprocity flies in the face of international legal principles and support for an […]

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Excellent analysis by a serious observer of Chinese military, doctrinal, and policy developments. Here’s hoping that David Bradley continues to publish his sophisticated analysis for all to read!
Has Washington unwittingly contributed to Beijing’s assessment of a “new situation” in the regional security environment and beyond by: (1) devoting insufficient resources and attention to the Asia-Pacific, (2) not […]

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Very important piece by Shannon Tiezzi. It explains clearly how China is trying to have it both ways with regard to conducting maritime intelligence collection activities in another nation’s EEZ. That’s why Emily de La Bruyere and I quote leading international legal scholar Jerome Cohen in our recent article in The National Interest on the […]

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Andrew S. Erickson and Emily de La Bruyere, “China’s RIMPAC Maritime-Surveillance Gambit,” The National Interest, 29 July 2014.
Forty-nine ships from 22 countries, including China, are currently participating in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) maritime training exercises off the coast of Hawaii. Submarines and aircraft have joined them. But last Friday, an electronic display map […]

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Andrew S. Erickson, “China’s Space Development History: A Comparison of the Rocket and Satellite Sectors,” Acta Astronautica (26 June 2014).
Copyright © 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Highlights
• China’s first space achievements were in military/civilian rockets and satellites.
• Nuclear power status and deterrence required missiles to credibly deliver warheads.
• Satellites were also prioritized for strategic reasons and lack of […]

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Andrew S. Erickson and Emily de La Bruyere, “Crashing Its Own Party: China’s Unusual Decision to Spy on Joint Naval Exercises,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 19 July 2014.
A party crasher from China’s navy is enjoying an intelligence buffet at the world’s largest maritime gathering – and the feasting will make it hard […]

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At the world’s foremost maritime cooperation wedding, a wedding crasher from China’s navy is enjoying an intelligence buffet…
Sam LaGrone, “China Sends Uninvited Spy Ship to RIMPAC,” USNI News, 18 July 2014.
China slipped an uninvited guest into the world’s largest naval exercise.
The U.S. invited four ships from China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) to the Rim […]

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Mark Thompson, “In China’s Sights: A New Missile Threatens the U.S. Navy’s Biggest Warships—And Stability in the Pacific,” Time, 28 July 2014, 33-36.
There are few things as awesome as a U.S. aircraft carrier—100,000 tons of nuclear-powered steel towering 20 stories above the waterline and crammed with nearly 70 warplanes ready to do its nation’s bidding. […]

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Andrew S. Erickson and Michael S. Chase, “China’s Strategic Rocket Force: Upgrading Hardware and Software (Part 2 of 2),” Jamestown China Brief 14.14 (17 July 2014).
Part One of this article covered the modernization of the People’s Liberation Army Second Artillery Force’s (PLASAF) conventional arsenal and the “conventionalization of deterrence”—the creation of doctrines that rely on […]

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U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue Outcomes of the Strategic Track
Media Note, Office of the Spokesperson, Washington, DC, July 14, 2014
At the Sixth Round of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) July 9-10, 2014, in Beijing, State Councilor Yang Jiechi, special representative of President Xi Jinping, and Secretary of State John Kerry, special representative of President Barack Obama, […]

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Andrew S. Erickson and Austin M. Strange, “Pandora’s Sandbox: China’s Island-Building Strategy in the South China Sea,” Foreign Affairs, 13 July 2014.
Ongoing international disputes over territory in the South China Sea have led many to invoke an old adage: “When the facts are on your side, pound the facts. When the law is on your side, pound […]

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“Chinese Fleet Participating in RIMPAC Drill Leaves for Exercise Area,” Xinhua, 11 July 2014.
Photo taken on July 9, 2014 shows Chinese navy’s missile frigate Yueyang leaves Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, the United States. The Chinese fleet participating in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) multinational naval exercises left Pearl Harbor for the exercise area on […]

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Philippa Brant, “China’s Foreign Aid White Paper: Quick Overview,” The Lowy Interpreter, 10 July 2014.
Today, the Chinese Government released its much-awaited second White Paper on Foreign Aid. It’s been in the pipeline for a while, as I’ve noted a number of times, and follows the first white paper published in April 2011. 
So what does it say?
First, it is an […]

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What Wayne Hughes calls “war at sea,” I term “deterrence by denial.” The concepts are quite similar in many respects. The unifying theme is that the United States—together with allies and partners—remains determined and able to defend the global system and uphold peace and stability, including in the vital portion within the Yellow, East China, […]

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Worth a long Saturday of thorough reading and reflection! The hallmark RAND quality and clarity, focused on a topic that will be with us for decades, particularly as Africa is projected to become the last, largest locus of global population growth in an otherwise largely graying planet.
Balanced and nuanced–not yet another polemic either ignoring or […]

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Wow! Just finished reading all 512 pages. A veritable cornucopia of China military sources–excellent compendium of key speeches and data points.
Anthony H. Cordesman, Chinese Military Modernization and Force Development: Chinese and Outside Perspectives (Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2 July 2014).
The Burke Chair at CSIS has developed a new analysis of the trends […]

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It’s always important to understand the context of strong quotations like the ones below. Sometimes essential factors are not captured initially, and things become clearer with time. But John Garnaut is an highly-experienced, extremely-reputable journalist and Dr. Shi Yinhong (时殷弘)’s views always merit close consideration. While he no doubt had to use his academic title […]

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Andrew S. Erickson and Michael S. Chase, “China’s Strategic Rocket Force: Sharpening the Sword (Part 1 of 2),” Jamestown China Brief 14.13 (3 July 2014).

The Second Artillery has made significant progress, particularly in modernizing its hardware, but also operations and training.
Its main mission remains deterrence, especially toward U.S. intervention in a regional conflict.
This deterrence mission increasingly […]

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Invitations aren’t everything: China’s navy (legally) monitored RIMPAC 2012 in the U.S. EEZ despite lacking invitation to do so, or to participate in the exercise itself.
DoD’s 2013 report on China’s military explains: “the PLA Navy has begun to conduct military activities within the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of other nations, without the permission of those coastal […]

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