Andrew S. Erickson

This thoughtful piece benefits greatly from Michael Swaine’s rarely-equaled examination of original sources and attention to detail.
To move beyond political sloganeering and achieve truly useful, constructive scholarship and analysis on this important and potentially destabilizing topic, it is necessary to address directly the vital issues that Swaine outlines in a meticulous, measured fashion.
Further […]

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Shannon Tiezzi, “The Chinese Military’s Toughest Opponent: Corruption,” The Diplomat, 1 February 2014.
South China Morning Post reported details this week on an official government raid of the home of Lt. Gen. Gu Junshan, one of the highest-ranking PLA officers to ever be investigated for graft. Gu, who used to be the deputy chief of the PLA’s General […]

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Andrew S. Erickson and William McCahill, “Take Heed of China’s Security Commission,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 31 January 2014.
China’s complex bureaucracy has presented China-watchers with a new analytical challenge in the form of a National Security Commission, which appears intended to help President Xi Jinping consolidate power and enhance administration but which […]

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Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Statement for the Record
Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community
Provided to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL TEXT REPORT
Download DNI Clapper’s Remarks
From pp. 21-22 of the report:
EAST ASIA
China
Chinese leaders will try to focus primarily on domestic priorities during 2014 while leveraging China’s […]

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Witnesses’ bios and written testimony now available.
Hearing on “China’s Military Modernization and its Implications for the United States”
    Thursday, January 30, 2014
     Room 2118, Rayburn House Office Building, 45 Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC 20515

Hearing Co-Chairs: Senator James M. Talent and Commissioner Katherine C. Tobin, PhD
The hearing will examine the inputs to China’s military modernization, including […]

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Bradley Perrett, Bill Sweetman, and Michael Fabey, “U.S. Navy Sees Chinese HGV as Part of Wider Threat,” Aviation Week & Space Technology, 27 January 2014.
In the view of the U.S. Navy, the Mach 10 test of a hypersonic glide vehicle that China conducted on Jan. 9 reflects its predictions of future warfare. If and when […]

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Hearing: “China’s Military Modernization and its Implications for the United States”
U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 608
Washington, DC 20002

Hearing Co-Chairs: Senator James M. Talent and Commissioner Katherine C. Tobin, Ph.D
 
9:00a – 9:15a    Co-Chairs’ remarks: Senator James M. Talent and Commissioner Katherine C. Tobin, Ph.D
9:15a – 10:45a   Panel I:  Inputs to China’s Military […]

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Thanks to Taylor Fravel for calling this important news to my attention!
Zhu Ningzhu, ed., “Xi Jinping to Lead National Security Commission,” Xinhua, 24 January 2014.
BEIJING, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) — President Xi Jinping will head China’s new national security commission, the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee decided on Friday.
The political bureau decided to […]

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Andrew S. Erickson and Austin M. Strange, “Ripples of Change in Chinese Foreign Policy? Evidence from Recent Approaches to Nontraditional Waterborne Security,” Asia Policy 17 (January 2014): 93–126.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This article examines China’s approaches to nontraditional security in the Gulf of Aden and on the Mekong River and explores the extent to which its behavior reflects […]

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The full text of Admiral Locklear’s recent speech is well worth reading. Thanks to CDR John Bradford, USN for bringing this to my attention.
Admiral Samuel J. Locklear III, Commander U.S. Pacific Command, Speech at the Surface Navy Association Conference, 15 January 2014.
It’s great to be back at SNA. I’ve had a long time affiliation with […]

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Robert Farley, “Wishlist for a New Naval Cooperative Strategy,” The Diplomat, 17 January 2014.
Chatter suggests that the U.S. Navy will soon release an update to the Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower.  The Cooperative Strategy envisioned the maritime commons as a space for collective action, in which productive rules of the road could lead to partnerships that […]

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Andrew Tilghman, “PACOM Chief: Uncontested U.S. Control of Pacific is Ending,” Navy Times, 15 January 2014.
The four-star commander of U.S. Pacific Command says the era when the U.S. military enjoys uncontested control over the Pacific’s blue water and its airspace is coming to an end.
Adm. Sam Locklear told a Navy conference in Virginia that the […]

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Zhou Wa, “China Seeks to Calm US fears over Missile,” China Daily, 16 January 2014.
The Ministry of National Defense issued a statement on Wednesday dismissing media reports that China’s recent ultrahigh-speed missile test flight was aimed at delivering warheads through the missile defenses of the United States.
“It is normal for China to conduct scientific experiments […]

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Ely Ratner, “(Re)Defining the ‘New Type of Major Country Relationship’ between the United States and China,” Center for Strategic and International Studies PacNet 4, 13 January 2014.
The US response to China’s call for a “new type of major country relationship” remains one of the most controversial and misunderstood components of the Obama administration’s China policy. […]

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Andrew S. Erickson and Austin M. Strange, “China and the Far Seas: China’s Far Seas Presence Enables it to Escort Syria’s Chemical Weapons Marked for Destruction,” The Diplomat, 10 January 2014.
While the U.S. and its allies perceive Beijing’s conduct as increasingly destabilizing in the Yellow, East, and South China Seas (“Near Seas”), China continues to […]

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Fact Sheets: The East Asia-Pacific Rebalance: Expanding U.S. Engagement
By Newsroom America Feeds at 16 Dec 2013
The East Asia-Pacific Rebalance: Expanding U.S. Engagement
Fact Sheet
Bureau of Public Affairs
December 16, 2013
“As a Pacific nation that takes our Pacific partnership seriously, the United States will continue to build on our active and enduring presence.”  – Secretary of State John Kerry
Recognizing that […]

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Andrew S. Erickson and Austin M. Strange, “Why China’s Gulf Piracy Fight Matters,” Global Public Square, CNN, 7 January 2014.
Editor’s note: Andrew S. Erickson is an associate professor in the Strategic Research Department at the U.S. Naval War College. Austin M. Strange is a research associate at the China Maritime Studies Institute. The views expressed are the authors’ alone.
December 26, […]

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Yang Yi, “New Joint Command System ‘On Way’,” Xinhua, 3 January 2014.
BEIJING, Jan. 3 (Xinhuanet) —  The Chinese military is to establish a joint operational command system “in due course”, with observers saying this will result in more-coordinated and combat-capable forces to efficiently respond to a crisis.
Setting up the system is a basic requirement in […]

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National Research Council, Capability Surprise for U.S. Naval Forces: Initial Observations and Insights: Interim Report (Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2013).
Committee on Capability Surprise for U.S. Naval Forces; Naval Studies Board; Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences; National Research Council
INTRODUCTION
A letter dated December 21, 2011, to National Academy of Sciences President Dr. Ralph Cicerone […]

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