Andrew S. Erickson

Self-Study Syllabus on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (American Mandarin Society, September 2019).
Access Vocabulary List here.
Suggest edits here.
“This syllabus is organized to build understanding of the PLA in a step-by-step fashion based on one hour of reading five nights a week for four weeks. In total, the key readings add up to roughly 800 pages, rarely […]

Continue Reading

New streamlined version with updated table and discussion for busy readers seeking the latest on PLAN force structure development, plus some China Coast Guard ship numbers for good measure! 
Ronald O’Rourke, China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress, RL33153 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 30 August 2019).

If you have trouble accessing the website above, please download […]

Continue Reading

I’m honored to have my research and publications cited in the following Wikipedia entries:
 
AIRCRAFT & AEROENGINES (CHINESE)
Chengdu J-20
Shenyang J-15
Shenyang WS-10
 
MISSILES (CHINESE)
Anti-ship ballistic missile
C-101
C-801 anti-ship missile
CJ-10 (missile)
DF-21
P-270 Moskit
PL-12
YJ-12
YJ-18
YJ-62
YJ-82
YJ-83
 
SUBMARINES (CHINESE)
People’s Liberation Army Navy Submarine Force
Nuclear submarine
Peng Pai
Peng Shilu
Huang Xuhua
Type 091 submarine
Type 092 submarine
Shang-class submarine
Type 095 submarine
 
WARSHIPS (CHINESE)
Chinese cruiser Zhiyuan
Type 056 corvette
 
DIEGO GARCIA
Diego Garcia
Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia
 
OTHER
China Coast […]

Continue Reading

Jeremy Page, “China Promises Further Military Cooperation With Russia,” The Wall Street Journal, 24 July 2019.
Beijing accuses U.S. of undermining regional stability and sharpens its warnings against Taiwan in new defense report
BEIJING—China vowed to step up military cooperation with Russia, a day after the two countries’ first joint air patrol triggered a rare confrontation over the Sea […]

Continue Reading

Gerry Shih, “China Takes Aim at U.S., Taiwan in Military Blueprint,” The Washington Post, 24 July 2019.
BEIJING — China sharpened its hostility toward the United States and Taiwan in a new high-level report on its future military strategy that accused Washington and its allies of undermining global stability. …
“If anyone dares to separate Taiwan from China, […]

Continue Reading

Ryan Pickrell, “China’s South China Sea Strategy Takes a Hit as the US Navy Threatens to Get Tough on Beijing’s Sea Forces,” Business Insider, 29 April 2019.

The US Navy’s top admiral has warned China that the US will treat China’s coast guard and maritime militia the same as the People’s Liberation Army Navy, the Financial […]

Continue Reading

I’m honored to be cited in the following Wikipedia entries:
 
AIRCRAFT & AEROENGINES (CHINESE)
Chengdu J-20
Shenyang J-15
Shenyang WS-10
 
MISSILES (CHINESE)
Anti-ship ballistic missile
C-101
C-801 anti-ship missile
CJ-10 (missile)
DF-21
P-270 Moskit
PL-12
YJ-12
YJ-18
YJ-62
YJ-82
YJ-83
 
SUBMARINES (CHINESE)
People’s Liberation Army Navy Submarine Force
Nuclear submarine
Peng Pai
Type 091 submarine
Type 092 submarine
Shang-class submarine
Type 095 submarine
 
WARSHIPS (CHINESE)
Chinese cruiser Zhiyuan
Type 056 corvette
 
DIEGO GARCIA
Diego Garcia
Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia
 
OTHER
Geostrategy

Continue Reading

Ronald O’Rourke, China’s Actions in South and East China Seas: Implications for U.S. Interests—Background and Issues for Congress, R42784 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 31 January 2019).
If you have trouble accessing the website above, please download a cached copy here.
You can also click here to access the report via the new public CRS website.
 
KEY EXCERPTS:
USE OF CHINA COAST GUARD SHIPS […]

Continue Reading

INFORMATION & ANALYSIS CONCERNING CHINA’S MARITIME MILITIA:

Tracking China’s “Little Blue Men”—A Comprehensive Maritime Militia Compendium
Rarely is a topic so little recognized and so little understood, yet so important and so amenable to research using Chinese-language open sources… To increase awareness and understanding of this important subject, here is a convenient compendium of major publications and […]

Continue Reading

Ronald O’Rourke, China’s Actions in South and East China Seas: Implications for U.S. Interests—Background and Issues for Congress, R42784 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 1 August 2018).
If you have trouble accessing the website above, please download a cached copy here.
You can also click here to access the report via the new public CRS website.
 
KEY EXCERPTS:
USE OF CHINA COAST GUARD SHIPS, […]

Continue Reading

Ronald O’Rourke, China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress, RL33153 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 1 August 2018).

If you have trouble accessing the website above, please download a cached copy here.
You can also click here to access the report via the new public CRS website.
 
Summary

The question of how the United States should respond to […]

Continue Reading

INFORMATION & ANALYSIS CONCERNING CHINA’S MARITIME MILITIA:

Tracking China’s “Little Blue Men”—A Comprehensive Maritime Militia Compendium
Rarely is a topic so little recognized and so little understood, yet so important and so amenable to research using Chinese-language open sources… To increase awareness and understanding of this important subject, here is a convenient compendium of major publications and […]

Continue Reading

Ronald O’Rourke, China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress, RL33153 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 19 July 2018).

If you have trouble accessing the website above, please download a cached copy here.
Summary

The question of how the United States should respond to China’s military modernization effort, including its naval modernization effort, is a key issue in […]

Continue Reading

Ronald O’Rourke, China’s Actions in South and East China Seas: Implications for U.S. Interests—Background and Issues for Congress, R42784 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 17 July 2018).
If you have trouble accessing the website above, please download a cached copy here.
KEY EXCERPTS:
USE OF CHINA COAST GUARD SHIPS, MARITIME MILITIA, AND OIL PLATFORMS ………………………………………………………………………………………. 16
p. 16
Use of Coast Guard […]

Continue Reading

Banyan, “China has Militarised the South China Sea and Got Away with it,” The Economist, 21 June 2018.
It is not clear what the “consequences” are that America has promised
LESS than three years ago, Xi Jinping stood with Barack Obama in the Rose Garden at the White House and lied through his teeth. In response to […]

Continue Reading

INFORMATION & ANALYSIS CONCERNING CHINA’S MARITIME MILITIA:

Tracking China’s “Little Blue Men”—A Comprehensive Maritime Militia Compendium
Rarely is a topic so little recognized and so little understood, yet so important and so amenable to research using Chinese-language open sources… To increase awareness and understanding of this important subject, here is a convenient compendium of major publications and […]

Continue Reading

Ronald O’Rourke, Maritime Territorial and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Disputes Involving China: Issues for Congress, R42784 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 24 May 2018).
If you have trouble accessing the website above, please download a cached copy here.
KEY EXCERPTS:
1972 CONVENTION ON PREVENTING COLLISIONS AT SEA (COLREGs)………………………………… 13
p. 13
1972 Convention on Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs)
China and the […]

Continue Reading

Ronald O’Rourke,

China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress,

RL33153 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 21 May 2018).

If you have trouble accessing the website above, please download a cached copy here.
Summary

The question of how the United States should respond to China’s military modernization effort, including its naval modernization effort, is a key […]

Continue Reading

“China’s Worldwide Military Expansion,” Full Committee Hearing, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
Thursday, May 17, 2018 (9:00-11:00 AM)
2212 Rayburn House office Building (RHOB)
Washington, D.C. 
Witnesses:
Mr. Dan Blumenthal 
American Enterprise Institute

Witness Statement [PDF]
Witness Truth in Testimony [PDF]

Captain James E. Fanell, U.S. Navy (Ret.) 
Former Director of Intelligence and Information Operations, U.S. Pacific Fleet

Witness Statement [PDF]
Witness Truth in Testimony […]

Continue Reading