Andrew S. Erickson

Djibouti… it’s finally official!
U.S. African Command (AFRICOM) Commander General David Rodriguez, U.S. Army, has just confirmed that China has signed a 10-year contract for a military logistics hub in Djibouti. This makes the African desert nation home to Beijing’s first-ever overseas military facility, however modest, or “base” in common parlance. “They are going to build a […]

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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:
 
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:
2015
Andrew S. Erickson, “What Does the Pentagon Think about China’s Rising […]

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Among a growing torrent of writings on U.S. Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPS) in the South China Sea, here are two of the most insightful pieces. Authored by Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute Director Prof. Peter Dutton and CDR Jonathan Odom of the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies—both of whom have deep knowledge […]

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In a just-published Defense News article, Chris Cavas has made an important contribution to our understanding of the operations and applications of China’s too-long-understudied irregular maritime forces. The forces he describes are almost certainly neither ordinary merchant ship operators nor random fishermen, but rather Chinese Maritime Militia operating in pre-planned roles in conjunction with USS Lassen’s recent FONOP. Coincidence? […]

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Here are multiple great opportunities to join a world-class research community where scholarship and policy come together daily in a prime seaside location. The oldest continuing institution of its kind in the world, and the U.S. Navy’s “Home of Thought,” the Naval War College educates and develops leaders, helps define the future Navy and associated […]

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My initial thoughts:
Beyond 500 meters of low-tide elevations (LTEs)—features naturally below water at high tide—foreign ships and aircraft are free to operate at will without consultation or permission, as USS Lassen has just done near Subi Reef. Unlike rocks or islands, under international law, LTEs such as Subi are not entitled to the 12 nautical […]

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Quack, Quack, Quack! Looks like CV001A’s taking shape in Dalian!
Sam LaGrone, “China’s First Domestic Aircraft Carrier Almost Certainly Under Construction,” USNI News, 30 September 2015.
China has quietly begun construction on its first domestic aircraft carrier in the same northern Chinese shipyard that refurbished the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s current Soviet-era carrier, USNI News has learned.
Several […]

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This concentration of power and decision-making, combined with severe new limitations in authoritative channels to communicate and consult back and forth with the outside world, is highly worrisome. It could be particularly problematic in the event of a foreign policy-related incident or crisis, in which both rapid decision-making and effective external consultation and communication might […]

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James Hardy and Sean O’Connor, “China Completes Runway on Fiery Cross Reef,” IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly, 25 September 2015.
Key Points

China has completed the runway on Fiery Cross Reef, its largest base in the Spratly Islands, Airbus Defence and Space satellite imagery dated 20 September has shown
The completion of the runway could enable China to accelerate […]

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Sean O’Connor, “China May Be Building First Indigenous Carrier,” IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly, 24 September 2015.
Click here to access set of five accompanying images offered by IHS Jane’s.
Key Points

An unidentified hull in an advanced state of construction at Dalian shipyard could be China’s first indigenous aircraft carrier
While a conclusive identification of the hull as an aircraft […]

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Gregory Kulacki, “Peaches, Plums and the Challenge of Cross-Cultural Communication,” China in Focus #19, All Things Nuclear: Insights on Science and Security, Union of Concerned Scientists, 24 September 2015.
Chinese President Xi Jinping likes to use Chinese idioms in his public remarks. While speaking to a select group of U.S. luminaries in Seattle on the first day […]

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Click here for English-language version.
Click here for Chinese-language version.
Click here for some preliminary text analysis.
Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a policy speech on China-US ties Tuesday night, at a welcome banquet jointly hosted by Washington State government and friendly communities in Seattle, the United States. Xi arrived in this east Pacific coast city on Tuesday […]

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Fascinating analysis at a critical time in U.S.-China relations and the two nations’ respective societal dynamics and domestic politics!
Alastair Iain Johnston and Mingming Shen, eds., Perception and Misperception in American and Chinese Views of the Other (Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 22 September 2015).
The underlying beliefs that people in the United States and […]

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Camerashy: Closing the Aperture on China’s Unit 78020 (ThreatConnect Inc. and Defense Group Inc., 2015).
Read an overview of the report in the Wall Street Journal.
ThreatConnect Inc. and Defense Group Inc. (DGI) have partnered to share threat intelligence
pertaining to the Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) group commonly known as “Naikon” within the information security industry. Our partnership […]

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Presented by the National Bureau of Asian Research
NEW CONTENT DAILY
On September 22, President Xi Jinping will arrive in Seattle for a series of private meetings with top U.S. business leaders and his only public address. This will be his first stop in his state visit to the United States, which will also take him to […]

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Victor Robert Lee, “South China Sea: Satellite Imagery Shows China’s Buildup on Fiery Cross Reef,” The Diplomat, 16 September 2015.
New capabilities of Chinese installations in the Spratlys may include sophisticated over-the-horizon radar
Reposted with author’s explicit written permission.
Recent satellite imagery of Fiery Cross in the Spratly Islands reveals that China’s construction of facilities on the reef […]

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Check out this related sequence of amazing island building photos!
Steven Mufson, “Chinese Activity in South China Sea Poses Complications for Obama,” Washington Post, 11 September 2015.
China appears to be taking new steps to lay down airfields on two reefs in a disputed area of the South China Sea on the eve of Chinese President Xi […]

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A welcome addition to The Ryan Martinson Bookshelf, this may well be his most important article yet. And that’s saying a lot…
It’s worth noting that Dr. Shi Yinhong (时殷弘) is a leading Chinese international relations expert who has advised China’s government on important matters.
Ryan Martinson, “China’s Great Balancing Act Unfolds: Enforcing Maritime Rights vs. Stability,” The […]

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CFTNI Job Posting: Senior Fellow, U.S.-China Relations
The Center for the National Interest seeks to hire a Senior Fellow to lead projects on U.S.-China relations and U.S. policy toward China. As the Center’s principal full-time professional staff member focused on Asia, the Senior Fellow will play a key part in shaping this program and will be […]

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