Andrew S. Erickson

“BMD From the Sea–It’s Not Just for SWOs,” Air Warfare, Steeljaw Scribe, 27 May 2009.
It is time for Naval Aviation to become more than interested bystanders and step up to the plate for the ballistic missile defense mission. For those who have been otherwise engaged or looking elsewhere, the cover and main article in the […]

Andrew S. Erickson, “Chinese Naval Mine Warfare: A PLA Navy ‘Assassin’s Mace,’” presented at Mine Warfare Association (MINWARA) Spring 2009 Regional Conference, “Mine Warfare—‘Home’ and ‘Away’ Game Challenges,” Panama City, FL, 19 May 2009.

After a lengthy hiatus lasting nearly six centuries, China is reemerging as a maritime power. The heart of the Beijing’s accelerating naval […]

James R. Holmes, Andrew C. Winner, and Toshi Yoshihara, Indian Naval Strategy in the Twenty-first Century (New York: Routledge, 11 May 2009).
This is the first academic study of India’s emerging maritime strategy, and offers a systematic analysis of the interplay between Western military thought and Indian maritime traditions.
By a quirk of historical fate, Europe […]

Roy Kamphausen, David Lai, and Andrew Scobell, Beyond the Strait: PLA Missions other than Taiwan (Carlisle, PA: Army War College and National Bureau of Asian Research, 30 April 2009).
While preventing independence likely remains the central aim of the PLA vis-a-vis Taiwan, Chinese foreign policy objectives worldwide are rapidly growing and diversifying. This volume analyzes the […]

Andrew S. Erickson and David D. Yang, “On the Verge of a Game-Changer,” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings 135.3 (May 2009): 26–32.
This article won the U.S. Naval Institute 2009 General Prize Essay Contest (Third Prize).

Almost from the earliest days of the Naval Institute, its essay contests have been one of its most important functions. On 13 June […]

WTOP Radio Interview with Dr. Andrew S. Erickson
“China’s New Nuclear Submarines,” on-air interview, WTOP Radio Station, Washington, DC, April 24, 2009.
Interview on  all-news formatted broadcast radio station serving the metropolitan Washington, DC area. Topics covered include Chinese submarine development, the PLA Navy’s April 2009 Fleet Review in Qingdao, the 8 March 2009 “Impeccable Incident” in […]

Andrew S. Erickson and Lyle J. Goldstein, “Gunboats for China’s New ‘Grand Canals’? Probing the Intersection of Beijing’s Naval and Energy Security Policies,” Naval War College Review 62.2 (Spring 2009): 43-76.
This article won the Naval War College Foundation Capt. Hugh G. Nott Prize (honorable mention) in 2009.
China’s seaborne energy imports have become as vital a lifeline […]

Leszek Buszynski, “Emerging Naval Rivalry in East Asia and the Indian Ocean: Implications for Australia,” Security Challenges, Vol. 5, No. 3 (Spring 2009), pp. 73-93.
The article identifies current trends towards naval rivalry in Australia’s northern security environment which are likely to bring instability and the danger of conflict. China, Japan, and Korea have engaged in […]

Andrew S. Erickson, “International Rescue—China Looks After its Interests Abroad,” China Watch, Jane’s Intelligence Review 21.4 (April 2009): 50-52.
China’s naval deployment to the Gulf of Aden in December 2008 is an indicator of the country’s growing willingness and ability to engage in overseas operations. Such missions are likely to increase in coming years, focusing on protecting […]

Michael S. Chase, Andrew S. Erickson, and Christopher T. Yeaw, “The Future of Chinese Deterrence Strategy,” Jamestown China Brief 9.5 (4 March 2009): 6-9.
The development of China’s nuclear and conventional missile power has been among the most impressive and most closely watched aspects of Chinese military modernization over the past two decades. During the past 20 years, the […]

“Observing PLA Navy Indian Ocean Operations,” Information Dissemination, 3 March 2009.
… March 2008 Proceedings has a public article available titled Welcome China to the Fight Against Pirates by Andrew S. Erickson, Naval War College; and Lieutenant Justin D. Mikolay, U.S. Navy. As I have said many times on the blog, everything written by Andrew Erickson […]

Andrew S. Erickson and Justin D. Mikolay, “Welcome China to the Fight Against Pirates,” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings 135.3 (March 2009): 34-41.
The Chinese deployment to the Gulf of Aden is historic and significant. The ongoing deployment of Chinese naval vessels to the troubled Gulf of Aden signals an important step in the evolution of the People’s […]

Michael S. Chase, Andrew S. Erickson, and Christopher Yeaw, “Chinese Theater and Strategic Missile Force Modernization and its Implications for the United States,” Journal of Strategic Studies 32.1 (February 2009): 67-114.
Keywords: China, Nuclear Strategy, Ballistic Missiles
The People’s Republic of China (PRC), no longer content with its longstanding ‘minimalist’ nuclear posture and strategy, is enhancing the striking power and survivability […]

Peter A. Dutton, Scouting, Signaling, and Gatekeeping: Chinese Naval Operations in Japanese Waters and the International Law Implications, Naval War College China Maritime Study 2 (February 2009).
The Han incident was not the first (or last) incursion to cause the JMSDF to exercise its submarine-hunting and -tracking capabilities. Over the past decade, the Japanese have observed more frequent submarine operations activities […]

Andrew S. Erickson, review of Roger Cliff et al., Entering the Dragon’s Lair: Chinese Antiaccess Strategies and Their Implications for the United States (Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2007), Naval War College Review 62.1 (Winter 2009): 150-51.
This study has already attracted widespread attention from the policy community and media, for good reason. The U.S. military appears poised to […]

Craig Covault, “Size Doesn’t Matter–China is Developing Big Military Space Capabilities Using Small Satellite Payloads,” Aviation Week & Space Technology, December 22/29 2008, pp. 22-24.
… “Microsatellite production offers Beijing three major benefits: Support for national development, lucrative and geostrategically relevant foreign sales [and] potential military space control applications,” says Andrew S. Erickson, assistant professor of […]

Bhartendu Kumar Singh, “Military Diplomacy: The Future of Sino-Indian Military Relations?” Jamestown China Brief, Vol. 8, No. 23, 8 December 2008.
Military relations between rising powers are often caught in a conflictual cycle. Yet Sino–Indian military relations is an exception in spite of wariness on both sides of the others strategic intentions. While the two states […]

Major Kim Nødskov, Royal Danish Air Force (Ret.), “Aircraft Carriers: China’s way to Great Power Status?,” Royal Danish Defence College, October 2008.

This research paper on the Chinese Carrier project, which is based on open sources, addresses the Chinese efforts to acquire an aircraft carrier.
China has vital strategic interests in the South China Sea and […]

Andrew S. Erickson, “Assessing the New U.S. Maritime Strategy: A Window into Chinese Thinking,” (Annotated translation and analysis of three Chinese articles), Naval War College Review 61.4 (Autumn 2008): 35-71.
Chinese reactions to the U.S. Navy’s new maritime strategy provide a window into a larger strategic dynamic—not just in East Asia, where China is already developing as […]