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Andrew S. Erickson China's rapid development is reshaping the world in all dimensions. Chinese language open sources offer insights into these critical trends. While such materials are increasing constantly in number, diversity, and sophistication, only a fraction is available in English. The analyses available here, many based on sources not previously considered outside China, are designed to help bridge that gap--and thereby increase understanding of the most dynamic great power in the international system today.

12 October 2010

China SignPost™ 洞察中国 #4–Be Careful What You Wish For: Further Appreciation of China’s Currency Would Deliver Positive and Negative Results for US

Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “Be Careful What You Wish For: Further Appreciation of China’s Currency Would Deliver Positive and Negative Results for U.S.,” China Signpost™(洞察中国) 4 (12 October 2010).
China Signpost™ 洞察中国–“Clear, high-impact China analysis.”©
On 29 September 2010, the US House of Representatives passed the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act by a […]

08 October 2010

Harvard Fairbank Center Lecture, Thurs. 14 Oct. 2010, 12:15 PM: “Aerospace Development: An Indicator of China’s Future Trajectory”

Andrew S. Erickson, “Aerospace Development: an Indicator of China’s Future Trajectory,” presented through Princeton-Harvard China and the World Program, Center for Government and International Studies, Harvard University, 14 October 2010.

Thursday, October 14, 2010 12:15 pm
Aerospace Development: An Indicator of China’s Future Trajectory
Dr. Andrew S. Erickson, U.S. Naval War College; China and the World Postdoctoral Fellow
China is the […]

08 October 2010

Not in Our Backyard: China’s Emerging Anti-Access Strategy

Michael Chase, “Not in Our Backyard: China’s Emerging Anti-Access Strategy,” The Progressive Fix, 7 October 2010. (Part 2 of 3).
Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has enjoyed an unparalleled ability to project military power around the globe, as the world’s leading superpower.

But in recent years, potential U.S. rivals have invested […]

07 October 2010

25 September Chinese Long-Range Missile Flight Test Reported in Washington Times

Bill Gertz, “Chinese Missile Test,” Washington Times, 6 October 2010.
“A U.S. official confirmed that China’s military fired a missile from the Taiyuan missile center, about 320 miles southwest of Beijing, to Korla, a city in western China some 1,800 miles away” on 25 September.
“China watchers in Asia and the United States were alerted to the […]

05 October 2010

Diego Garcia and the United States’ Emerging Indian Ocean Strategy

Andrew S. Erickson, Walter C. Ladwig III, and Justin D. Mikolay, “Diego Garcia and the United States’ Emerging Indian Ocean Strategy,” Asian Security 6.3 (Autumn 2010): 214-37.
An ungated full-text PDF is available here.
Click here to access the full-text PDF directly from Asian Security.
Cited in “Diego Garcia,” Wikipedia.
Abstract: As the world’s economic and strategic “center of gravity” […]

02 October 2010

International Security, Fall 2010: “China’s Search for Assured Retaliation: The Evolution of Chinese Nuclear Strategy and Force Structure”

M. Taylor Fravel and Evan S. Medeiros, “China’s Search for Assured Retaliation: The Evolution of Chinese Nuclear Strategy and Force Structure,” International Security, Vol. 35, No. 2 (Fall 2010), pp. 48-87.
M. Taylor Fravel
M. Taylor Fravel is the Cecil and Ida Green Career Development Associate Professor of Political Science and a member of the Security […]

02 October 2010

International Security, Fall 2010: “Correspondence: Debating China’s Naval Nationalism”

Michael A. Glosny and Phillip C. Saunders, Robert S. Ross, “Correspondence: Debating China’s Naval Nationalism,” International Security, Vol. 35, No. 2 (Fall 2010), pp. 161-75.
Michael A. Glosny
Michael A. Glosny is an instructor in the Department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School and was China Security Fellow at the Center for Strategic […]

29 September 2010

Presented on “Aerospace Development” & “China Goes to Sea” for Princeton-Harvard China & the World Program

Andrew S. Erickson, “Aerospace Development: an Indicator of China’s Future Trajectory” and “China Goes to Sea: Maritime Transformation in Comparative Historical Perspective,” presented through Princeton-Harvard China and the World Program at Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 29 September 2010.

CHINA GOES TO SEA: MARITIME TRANSFORMATION IN COMPARATIVE HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
On September 29, 2010, Professor Andrew Erickson gave a […]

25 September 2010

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

Ronald O’Rourke, “China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress,” Congressional Research Service, 26 August 2010.
The question of how the United States should respond to China’s military modernization effort, including its naval modernization effort, has emerged as a key issue in U.S. defense planning. Admiral Michael Mullen, the Chairman of the […]

23 September 2010

Princeton University Lecture, Wed. 29 September, 4:30 PM: “Aerospace Development: an Indicator of China’s Future Trajectory”

Lecture by Andrew Erickson: “Aerospace Development: an Indicator of China’s Future Trajectory”
4:30 pm, Wednesday, 29 September 2010
Bowl 2, Robertson Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ

Beijing’s air and space components are finally on the verge of giving the country’s leaders something they have dreamed of since before the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC): a […]

23 September 2010

China Improving ‘Area Denial’

William Lowther, “China Improving ‘Area Denial’,” Taipei Times, 24 September 2010, p. 3.
A new report by a professor at the US Naval War College says Chinese military planners “covet the ability” to prevent US and allied forces from intervening effectively in the event of a Taiwan Strait crisis.
“The PLA [People’s Liberation Army] is improving rapidly […]

21 September 2010

‘Tipping’ the Future Fleet

Capt. George Galdorisi, U.S. Navy (Retired), Antonio Siordia, and Scott C. Truver, “‘Tipping’ the Future Fleet,” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, Vol. 136, No. 10 (October 2010).
The course ahead for the Navy of the mid-21st century is still uncharted. The strategic alternative it chooses now will chart that course, for better or worse.
In late 2009 Chief […]

21 September 2010

“China” and “Japan” Entries in Space Exploration and Humanity: A Historical Encyclopedia

Joan Johnson-Freese and Andrew S. Erickson; “China,” 1004-08, and “Japan,” 1021-25; in Stephen B. Johnson, ed., Space Exploration and Humanity: A Historical Encyclopedia (Washington, DC: NASA/ABC-CLIO, 2010).
A complete history of human endeavors in space, this book also moves beyond the traditional topics of human spaceflight, space technology, and space science to include political, social, cultural, and economic […]

21 September 2010

Red Star Over The Pacific: China’s Rise and the Challenge to U.S. Maritime Strategy

Toshi Yoshihara and James R. Holmes, Red Star Over The Pacific: China’s Rise and the Challenge to U.S. Maritime Strategy (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2010).
Combining a close knowledge of Asia and an ability to tap Chinese-language sources with naval combat experience and expertise in sea-power theory, the authors assess how the rise of Chinese […]

18 September 2010

China Signpost 洞察中国™ #3–Salt of the Earth: BHP Billiton’s Bid for Potash Corp Likely to Drive Chinese Potash Investment in Belarus, Russia, and Africa

Gabriel B. Collins, “Salt of the Earth: BHP Billiton’s Bid for Potash Corp Likely to Drive Chinese Potash Investment in Belarus, Russia, and Africa,” China Signpost (洞察中国)™ 3 (18 September 2010).
China Signpost 洞察中国™–“Clear, high-impact China analysis.”©
A successful deal would give BHP control over more than 20% of global potash production. This share would rise as […]

17 September 2010

Taipei Times Article on Chinese ASBM Development

Wang Jyh-Perng (王志鵬), “U.S. Grows Wary of the East Wind,” Taipei Times, 17 September 2010, p. 8.
Warnings that China has already had some success in developing anti-aircraft carrier capabilities have come thick and fast over the last few years in the form of official reports and output from US think tanks. A report in August […]

14 September 2010

Harmonious Ocean? Chinese Aircraft Carriers and the Australian-U.S. Alliance

John Frewen, “Harmonious Ocean? Chinese Aircraft Carriers and the Australian-U.S. Alliance,” Joint Force Quarterly 59, 4th Quarter (October 2010), pp. 68-74.
Brigadier General John Frewen, Australian Army, wrote this essay while a student at the U.S. Army War College. It won the 2010 Secretary of Defense National Security Essay Competition.
In March 2009, China’s Defense Minister, Liang […]

14 September 2010

Sustaining America’s Strategic Advantage in Long-Range Strike

Mark A. Gunzinger, Sustaining America’s Strategic Advantage in Long-Range Strike (Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, 14 September 2010).
The ability to conduct long-range strike operations has long provided the United States with a decisive military advantage over its enemies. Today, that advantage is dissipating. Despite the crucial role long-range strike capabilities have played in our […]

11 September 2010

Ryukyu Chain in China’s Island Strategy

James Holmes and Toshi Yoshihara, “Ryukyu Chain in China’s Island Strategy,” Jamestown China Brief, Vol. 10, No. 18 (10 September 2010).
In late August the Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun reported that the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) intend to stage their first-ever island defense exercises in December. The maneuvers will be held in concert with U.S. Navy […]