Archive | Journal Articles

24 June 2016

China’s Maritime Militia: What It Is and How to Deal With It

Andrew S. Erickson and Conor M. Kennedy, “China’s Maritime Militia: What It Is and How to Deal With It,” Foreign Affairs, 23 June 2016.

Last October, when the American destroyer USS Lassen sailed by Subi Reef, an artificial island built by China in the South China Sea, a number of Chinese merchant ships and fishing boats maneuvered around it, apparently having anticipated […]

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31 March 2016

“Barriers, Springboards and Benchmarks: China Conceptualizes the Pacific ‘Island Chains’”—Published as Lead Article in The China Quarterly

Andrew S. Erickson and Joel Wuthnow, “Barriers, Springboards and Benchmarks: China Conceptualizes the Pacific ‘Island Chains’,” The China Quarterly 225 (March 2016): 1-22.

Barriers, Springboards and Benchmarks: China Conceptualizes the Pacific “Island Chains”
Andrew S. Erickson, US Naval War College, Newport, RI; and Joel Wuthnow, US National Defense University, Washington, DC
Abstract
US government reports describe Chinese-conceived “island chains” in the Western […]

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27 February 2016

Installing a Safety on the “Loaded Gun”? China’s Institutional Reforms, National Security Commission and Sino-Japanese Crisis (In)Stability

Andrew S. Erickson and Adam P. Liff, “Installing a Safety on the ‘Loaded Gun’? China’s Institutional Reforms, National Security Commission and Sino-Japanese Crisis (In)Stability,” Journal of Contemporary China 25.98 (March 2016): 197–215.

Abstract
As China’s active assertion of its claim to the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands has increasingly crowded the surrounding waters and airspace with military and paramilitary forces, the […]

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21 January 2016

“Barriers, Springboards and Benchmarks: China Conceptualizes the Pacific ‘Island Chains’”—FirstView Version of Article Now Available on The China Quarterly Website

Andrew S. Erickson and Joel Wuthnow, “Barriers, Springboards and Benchmarks: China Conceptualizes the Pacific ‘Island Chains’,” The China Quarterly, available on CJO 2016 doi:10.1017/S0305741016000011; published online by Cambridge University Press 21 January 2016.   
A FirstView version of the forthcoming article online may be accessed at http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0305741016000011.
Click here to read PDF version.
This FirstView version of the article, […]

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05 January 2016

America’s Security Role in the South China Sea

Andrew S. Erickson, “America’s Security Role in the South China Sea,” Naval War College Review 69.1 (Winter 2016): 7-20.
In this issue, Andrew S. Erickson argues for safeguarding the long-term future of the global maritime commons, including the freedom of the vital international sea-lanes of the South China Sea and the airspace above.
From the Editors:
As the […]

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03 December 2015

Necessity, Reality: Maintaining Freedom and Peace at Sea

Andrew S. Erickson, “Necessity, Reality: Maintaining Freedom and Peace at Sea,” S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) Commentary CO15235, South China Sea Series, 5 November 2015.
RSIS Commentary is a platform to provide timely and, where appropriate, policy-relevant commentary and analysis of topical and contemporary issues. The authors’ views are their own and do not […]

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30 November 2015

Towards “Competitive Coexistence”: Building Operational Trust through Maritime Confidence Building Measures and Non-Traditional Security Cooperation

Andrew S. Erickson and Austin M. Strange, “Towards ‘Competitive Coexistence’: Building Operational Trust through Maritime Confidence Building Measures and Non-Traditional Security Cooperation,” China International Strategy Review 2015, 115–38.          ONLINE VERSION
[美]安德鲁·埃里克森 [美]奥斯丁·斯特兰奇 [Andrew S. Erickson and Austin M. Strange], “迈向‘竞争性共存’: 通过海上建立信任措施–与非传统安全合作构建行动互信” [Towards “Competitive Coexistence”: Building Operational Trust through Maritime Confidence Building Measures […]

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17 November 2015

China’s Turn Toward Regional Restructuring, Counter-Intervention: A Review of Authoritative Sources

Timothy Heath and Andrew S. Erickson, “China’s Turn Toward Regional Restructuring, Counter-Intervention: A Review of Authoritative Sources,” Jamestown China Brief 15.22 (16 November 2015): 3-8.
Note: This piece is based on a longer article published in The Washington Quarterly (Fall 2015, available here).
Beginning after the global financial crisis in 2008, and transforming further with Xi Jinping’s ascent to power in […]

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06 November 2015

Is China Pursuing Counter-Intervention?

Timothy Heath and Andrew S. Erickson, “Is China Pursuing Counter-Intervention?” The Washington Quarterly 38.3 (fall 2015): 143–56.
The term “counter-invention” has become burdened with conflated meanings and thus controversial in describing aspects of Chinese national and military strategy. Yet, the term should be retained although refined in two ways to help U.S. policymakers and planners devise […]

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29 October 2015

Installing a Safety on the “Loaded Gun”? China’s Institutional Reforms, National Security Commission and Sino-Japanese Crisis (In)Stability

Andrew S. Erickson and Adam P. Liff, “Installing a Safety on the ‘Loaded Gun’? China’s Institutional Reforms, National Security Commission and Sino-Japanese Crisis (In)Stability,” Journal of Contemporary China (published online: 26 October 2015), 19 pp.
Abstract
As China’s active assertion of its claim to the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands has increasingly crowded the surrounding waters and airspace with military […]

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26 October 2015

Dreaming Big, Acting Big: Xi’s Impact on China’s Military Development

Andrew S. Erickson, “Dreaming Big, Acting Big: Xi’s Impact on China’s Military Development,” Asan Forum 3.5 (September-October 2015).
Xi Jinping emerged from his recent US visit with no meaningful new constraints on the development, deployment, and use of China’s military. Constructively, as part of a larger UN support package, he unveiled a Chinese plan to establish a […]

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17 September 2015

China’s Island Building Campaign Could Hint toward Further Expansions in Indian Ocean

Andrew Erickson and Kevin Bond, “Essay: China’s Island Building Campaign Could Hint toward Further Expansions in Indian Ocean,” USNI News, 17 September 2015.
China’s creation of military-relevant facilities on its newly-created islands in the South China Sea is a cause for concern for countries in Southeast Asia, and several of its investments in the Indian Ocean […]

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12 September 2015

“Decoding China’s Maritime Decision-making”—CSIS Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative’s 10 September 2015 Issue

You simply can’t afford to miss the timely treatment of important subjects offered here:
Decoding China’s Maritime Decision-making
  This issue of AMTI explores China’s maritime policymaking process by breaking down the organizational structure of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), and the State, and attempting to shed light on how decisions are reached. […]

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11 September 2015

Directing China’s “Little Blue Men”: Uncovering the Maritime Militia Command Structure

Andrew S. Erickson and Conor M. Kennedy, “Directing China’s ‘Little Blue Men’: Uncovering the Maritime Militia Command Structure,” Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, Center for Strategic and International Studies, 9 September 2015.

Republished as Andrew S. Erickson and Conor M. Kennedy, “Beware of China’s ‘Little Blue Men’ in the South China Sea,” The National Interest, 15 September 2015.

While Russia has employed […]

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01 May 2015

China’s Global Maritime Presence: Hard and Soft Dimensions of PLAN Antipiracy Operations

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 […]

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10 April 2015

China’s Island Builders: The People’s War at Sea

Andrew S. Erickson and Conor M. Kennedy, “China’s Island Builders: The People’s War at Sea,” Foreign Affairs, 9 April 2015.

Recent satellite images show that the Spratly islands, a series of features in the South China Sea, are growing at a staggering pace. Tons of sand, rocks, coral cuttings, and concrete are transforming miniscule Chinese-occupied outcroppings into sizeable islands […]

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24 March 2015

Crowding the Waters: The Need for Crisis Management in the East China Sea

Adam P. Liff and Andrew S. Erickson, “Crowding the Waters: The Need for Crisis Management in the East China Sea,” Foreign Affairs, 23 March 2015.
Since September 2012, the waters and airspace surrounding the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea have become increasingly crowded. China is conducting more military and paramilitary operations, and Japan is […]

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20 February 2015

Trouble Ahead? Chinese-Korean Disputes May Intensify

Andrew S. Erickson and Michael Monti, “Trouble Ahead? Chinese-Korean Disputes May Intensify,” The National Interest, 20 February 2015.
As Cold War glaciers melt, Chinese-Korean tensions may grow more pronounced.
The Christmas release of The Interview, however coarse in depiction, underscores the Korean peninsula’s tremendous geostrategic importance and potential for disruptive change. Brookings scholar Jonathan Pollack aptly terms it “the […]

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28 January 2015

The Challenge of Maintaining American Security Ties in Post-Authoritarian East Asia

Andrew S. Erickson and Ja Ian Chong, “The Challenge of Maintaining American Security Ties in Post-Authoritarian East Asia,” The National Interest, 29 January 2015. 
Washington must address the challenges associated with political transition to better mitigate the various risks associated with the liberal democratization of its East Asian partners. 
The United States faces challenges trying to maintain […]

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