Andrew S. Erickson

Despite coming out late in the year, the Pentagon’s 2021 China Military Power Report (CMPR) was worth the wait!
Since the first edition in 2000, the annual CMPR issued by the Department of Defense (DoD) has offered government-verified data on China’s meteoric military rise simply unfindable or unconfirmable anywhere else.
Among today’s top takeaways: in a shocking […]

Now that the Department of Defense (DoD) has just released the 2021 China Military Power Report (CMPR)… you can access the Full Text & accompanying documents below. Since I couldn’t find a single-source location on the Internet, and the Pentagon has deactivated some of the previous links, I decided to make my own. Now you can […]

Pathbreaking contribution by J. Michael Dahm, a retired U.S. Navy intelligence officer and a senior researcher at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Among his Indo-Pacific assignments, he formerly served as Assistant U.S. Naval Attaché in Beijing—& graciously hosted me & my CMSI colleagues there. Check out the revealing accompanying graphics: 47 figures & 7 […]

Andrew S. Erickson, “Tracking China’s ‘Little Blue Men’—A Comprehensive Maritime Militia Compendium,” China Analysis from Original Sources 以第一手资料研究中国, 30 October 2021.

As Coronavirus rages on, fishy things have been happening across the South and East China Seas, home to virtually all of China’s unresolved maritime disputes… Since Beijing remains far from being fully forthcoming and transparent, it is to be hoped […]

The Honorable Carlos Del Toro, 78th Secretary of the Navy, One Navy-Marine Corps Team—Strategic Guidance from the Secretary of the Navy (Washington, DC: U.S. Navy Office of Information, 8 October 2021).
Click here to download a cached copy.

 KEY CHINA-RELATED EXCERPTS:
p. 1
Since my confirmation as the 78th Secretary of the Navy, I have characterized the most pressing challenges facing the […]

Honored to publish Oxford University Press’s Oxford Bibliography on “The People’s Liberation Army (PLA)” with Ian Burns McCaslin! 74 pages of entries cover leading works in the field, each with a convenient summary. When we started compiling this 3+ years ago, we wondered why there weren’t more such resources… We learned the hard way—and want […]

As part of Ronald O’Rourke’s continuous incremental improvements, this 254th (!) edition of his report on Chinese naval modernization incorporates numbers provided by the U.S. Navy. And that’s on top of the numbers from the soon-to-be-superceded Pentagon’s 2020 China Military Power Report. Given the authoritative analysis supporting these revelations, and the rarity with which they are made […]

This Library of Congress report is indispensable for policy-makers and analysts alike!

Ronald O’Rourke, U.S.-China Strategic Competition in South and East China Seas: Implications for U.S. Interests—Background and Issues for Congress, R42784 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 6 October 2021).
If you have trouble accessing the website above, please download a cached copy here.
You can also click here to access the […]

Honored to speak with the hosts CDR Salamander and EagleOne, and all participating in our discussion! 
We spoke live at 5 P.M. (EDT) on 24 October 2021 for Midrats Episode 606: China’s Dangerous Decade with Andrew Erickson…

Click here to listen to the 66-minute podcast!
Andrew S. Erickson, “China’s Dangerous Decade with Andrew Erickson,” Midrats Podcast Episode 606, […]

Click here to access more information on how to apply via Harvard’s HR website.
 

Faculty of Arts and Sciences

55985BR

Job-Specific Responsibilities
The Executive Director (ED) of the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies (FCCS) and the Harvard China Fund (HCF) plays a critical role in leading two of the university’s key centers for research, teaching and outreach regarding Greater […]

Andrew S. Erickson and Gabriel B. Collins, “A Dangerous Decade of Chinese Power Is Here,” Foreign Policy, 18 October 2021.
China’s Power is Peaking—As is the Danger for the United States
Beijing knows time isn’t on its side and wants to act fast.

U.S. and allied policymakers are facing the most important foreign-policy challenge of the 21st century. China’s […]

I am forever honored to have met Colin Powell, then Secretary of State, during his July 28–29, 2001 visit to Beijing, China.

[PHOTO: Andrew S. Erickson and fellow interns with Secretary of State Colin Powell, U.S. Embassy Beijing, July 2001. Newly-arrived Ambassador Clark T. “Sandy” Randt Jr. (雷德) stands in background.]
Powell quietly commanded respect—exuding maximum authority […]

“China Exploits the ‘Decade of Danger’,” ANI News, 12 October 2021.

… This period where China’s military and strategic power grows to the point that …war becomes possible, and with the USA and allies [currently at risk of being perceived as] unprepared to properly deter, is described as “the decade of greatest danger” by Andrew Erickson, a Professor […]

Conor M. Kennedy, The New Chinese Marine Corps: A “Strategic Dagger” in a Cross-Strait Invasion, China Maritime Report 15 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, October 2021).
This report discusses the recent expansion/reform of the Chinese Marine Corps in the context of a Taiwan invasion scenario.

Summary
Since 2017, the People’s Liberation Army Navy Marine […]

A comprehensive compendium of PLAN, PLAAF, CCG ships & aircraft + missiles/weapons & sensors from 1955 to present, as you’ve never seen them before… Consult this unparalleled unclassified reference for analysis or gaming today! 
Larry Bond, Chris Carlson, and Peter Grining, eds., China’s Navy: Ships and Aircraft of the People’s Republic of China, 1955 – 2021 (Admiralty […]

Manfred Meyer (edited by Larry Bond and Chris Carlson), Modern Chinese Maritime Forces (Admiralty Trilogy Group, 1 October 2021).

“A compilation of ships and boats of the Chinese Navy, Coast Guard, Maritime Militia and other state authorities”
In terms of ship numbers, each of China’s three sea forces is the world’s largest by a large margin. For the […]

Andrew S. Erickson, “Australia Badly Needs Nuclear Submarines: AUKUS Nuclear Submarine Deal Is a Massive Boost for Australia’s Navy,” Foreign Policy, 20 September 2021.
The country’s maritime scope, and China’s rise, makes the AUKUS deal a no brainer.

It’s rare that a submarine deal—or any military partnership—creates quite as many waves as the Australia-United Kingdom-United States agreement […]

Andrew S. Erickson and Gabriel B. Collins, “China Is Disrupting the Ocean’s Blue Carbon Sink,” Foreign Policy, 10 September 2021.
Washington and Beijing need to protect the global seabed—and address the staggering loophole in greenhouse gas reporting.
Bottom line: The U.S. Must Address China’s Blue Carbon Disruption
By Andrew S. Erickson, a professor of strategy in the U.S. Naval War College’s […]

Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “China Is Laying Climate Traps for the United States,” Foreign Policy, 2 September 2021.
With the Glasgow conference approaching, U.S. diplomats must be careful.
By Gabriel B. Collins, the Baker Botts fellow in energy and environmental regulatory affairs at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, and Andrew S. Erickson, a professor […]