Archive | Journal Articles

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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18 December 2014

Beijing Projects Power through Cooperation, Intimidation

Andrew S. Erickson, “Beijing Projects Power through Cooperation, Intimidation,” Nikkei Asian Review, 18 December 2014.
China’s military development offers costs and benefits for its neighbors and the world. To understand why, look at two factors: technology and geography.
     In the contested “near seas” off China’s coast (the Yellow, East China, and South China seas), Beijing is […]

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06 December 2014

Have We Just Glimpsed China’s Vision of Future Aircraft Carrier Designs?

Andrew S. Erickson, “Asia Get Ready: Is This China’s Vision of Future Aircraft Carrier Designs?” The National Interest, 8 December 2014.
Originally published as: Andrew S. Erickson, “Have We Just Glimpsed China’s Vision of Future Aircraft Carrier Designs?” China Analysis from Original Sources 以第一手资料研究中国 (6 December 2014).
A high-caliber model manufacturer may just have provided a unique glimpse […]

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21 November 2014

China’s Growing Naval Capability: A View from the United States

Andrew S. Erickson, “China’s Growing Naval Capability: A View from the United States,” Jane’s Navy International, 18 November 2014.
As China’s global maritime influence grows in seas both near and far from its shores, the one other naval power whose path it will cross in all such regions is the United States. Professor Andrew Erickson considers […]

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17 November 2014

China’s Blue Soft Power: Antipiracy, Engagement, and Image Enhancement

Andrew S. Erickson and Austin M. Strange, “China’s Blue Soft Power: Antipiracy, Engagement, and Image Enhancement,” Naval War College Review 68.1 (Winter 2015): 71–91.
Translated in traditional Chinese as:
艾瑞克森 [Andrew S. Erickson] 博士、史崔奇 [Austin M. Strange] 博士生; 譯者: 翟文中 (海軍備役上校) [Translation by Capt. CHAI Wen-Chung, ROC-N (Ret.)], “中國大陸的遠洋軟實力 打擊海盜、國際交往與形象提升(上)” [Mainland China’s Use of Blue Water Soft Power […]

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10 October 2014

Not-So-Empty Talk: The Danger of China’s “New Type of Great-Power Relations” Slogan

Words matter. Dr. Adam Liff and I offer recommendations for avoiding the real “great power” trap by seeking a responsible reset for U.S.-China relations.
Andrew S. Erickson and Adam P. Liff, “Not-So-Empty Talk: The Danger of China’s ‘New Type of Great-Power Relations’ Slogan,” Foreign Affairs, 9 October 2014.
In uncritically signing on to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “new type […]

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01 October 2014

A Potent Vector: Assessing Chinese Cruise Missile Developments

Dennis M. Gormley, Andrew S. Erickson, and Jingdong Yuan, “A Potent Vector: Assessing Chinese Cruise Missile Developments,” Joint Force Quarterly 75.4 (October 2014): 98-105.
The numerous, increasingly advanced cruise missiles being developed and deployed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have largely flown under the public’s radar. This article surveys PRC cruise missile programs and assesses […]

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23 September 2014

China’s Naval Modernization: The Implications of Seapower

Andrew S. Erickson, “China’s Naval Modernization: The Implications of Seapower,” World Politics Review, 23 September 2014.
This month, the heads of the world’s navies and coast guards converged on the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, for the International Seapower Symposium (ISS). ISS assembles distinguished international naval leaders to enhance common bonds of friendship and to […]

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