Andrew S. Erickson

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 […]

Continue Reading

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 […]

Continue Reading

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 […]

Continue Reading

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 […]

Continue Reading

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 […]

Continue Reading

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 […]

Continue Reading

Andrew S. Erickson, “Lengthening Chinese Airstrips May Pave Way for South China Sea ADIZ,” The National Interest, 27 April 2015.
Originally published as: Andrew S. Erickson, “Runway to the Danger Zone? Lengthening Chinese Airstrips May Pave Way for South China Sea ADIZ,” China Analysis from Original Sources 以第一手资料研究中国, 24 April 2015.
[Links from original version embedded below:]
Never underestimate Chinese engineering. First the […]

Continue Reading

Victor Robert Lee, “South China Sea: China’s Unprecedented Spratlys Building Program,” The Diplomat, 25 April 2015.
Subi Reef looks next in line for an airstrip, as building and reclamation continue with unprecedented speed.
High-resolution satellite images from April 17, 2015 reveal that in the space of ten weeks China has built an island on top of Subi […]

Continue Reading

Andrew S. Erickson, “Runway to the Danger Zone? Lengthening Chinese Airstrips May Pave Way for South China Sea ADIZ,” China Analysis from Original Sources 以第一手资料研究中国, 24 April 2015.
Never underestimate Chinese engineering. First the Great Wall, then the Grand Canal, and now the Great Wall of Sand.
China is rapidly augmenting features in the South China Sea (SCS) on industrial […]

Continue Reading

Adam P. Liff, “The 2015 US-Japan Guidelines for Defense Cooperation: toward ‘A More Balanced and Effective Alliance’,” PacNet 27, 23 April 2015.
While the media has focused on how Prime Minister Abe Shinzo will treat history in his speech to Congress next week, another historic development should occur days before Abe reaches the podium. Monday, US […]

Continue Reading

To paraphrase Vice President Biden, Russia’s confirmed sale of 4-6 S-400 air defense missile battalions is a big deal. The system’s radar alone is extremely powerful and long-range, and casts a long shadow over the East Asian littoral. The timing on this agreement (inked last quarter 2014, for delivery in ~2017) fits with the prominent […]

Continue Reading

Andrew S. Erickson, “See China’s Secret Ocean Airbase,” Live interview on “Today Asia” Program, CNN International, 17 April 2015.

Click here to watch a re-aired segment of the interview.

Continue Reading

A trenchant analysis of Beijing’s cyber contradiction (矛盾, máodùn).
Amy Chang, “China’s Maodun: A Free Internet Caged by the Chinese Communist Party,” Jamestown China Brief 15.8 (16 April 2015).
China pursues a strategy of aggressive cyberspace management and is in the midst of fostering a military cyber force to further the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) primary interest: […]

Continue Reading

Jeremy Page, “China Building Airstrip in Spratly Islands, Satellite Images Show,” Wall Street Journal, 16 April 2015.
Move seen as step in enforcing territorial claims to disputed island group in South China Sea
BEIJING—Fresh satellite imagery released Thursday shows that China has begun building a concrete runway on reclaimed land around a disputed reef in the South […]

Continue Reading

Andrew S. Erickson, “Revelations on China’s Maritime Modernization: The U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence Offers a Wealth of New Information on the PLA Navy,” The Diplomat, 16 April 2015.
To its first unclassified report on China’s navy in six years, the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) has just added sophisticated posters detailing Chinese ships and […]

Continue Reading

Just added to ONI’s report on “The PLA Navy: New Capabilities and Missions for the 21st Century”: posters detailing Chinese ships and aircraft, equipment, and leadership structure. Perhaps most exciting, for the first time ever, ONI is making authoritative, carefully-labeled silhouettes and photos of PLAN and maritime law enforcement (MLE) ships and aircraft available publicly, together […]

Continue Reading

Bryan McGrath, “How Will China View the New Maritime Strategy,” Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, Center for Strategic and International Studies, 8 April 2015.
The military services responsible for American seapower (Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard) recently released their new maritime strategy, entitled “Forward, Engaged, Ready: A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower.” The reviews thus far have been positive, […]

Continue Reading

Bill Gertz, “ONI Reveals Massive Chinese Naval Buildup—New Supersonic Cruise Missile Deployed,” Washington Free Beacon, 10 April 2015.
… The Office of Naval Intelligence, in its first unclassified assessment of the Chinese navy in six years, revealed deployment of the new YJ-18 supersonic anti-ship cruise missile on warships and submarines that analysts say poses a major threat to […]

Continue Reading

Andrew S. Erickson, “U.S. Exposes China’s Growing Maritime Power,” The National Interest, 10 April 2015.
Originally published as: Andrew S. Erickson, “Navy Intel Charts Chinese Sea Change: Office of Naval Intelligence Releases First Unclassified PLAN Report in Six Years,” China Analysis from Original Sources 以第一手资料研究中国, 9 April 2015.
What a difference six years makes! Since the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence […]

Continue Reading