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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.

24 April 2020

New CRS Report Out Today—“China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities”—Projections to 2030 from Office of Naval Intelligence!

Ronald O’Rourke, China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress, RL33153 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 24 April 2020).
Having trouble accessing the website above? Please download a cached copy here!
You can also click here to access the report via the new public CRS website.
In addition to his continuous incremental improvements, Ronald O’Rourke has revised this latest […]

24 April 2020

Published Today! O’Rourke’s CRS Report (*103rd ed.) Offers Latest on CCG, PAFMM—“U.S.-China Strategic Competition in South & East China Seas: Background & Issues for Congress”

Now in its 103rd iteration, not far behind its counterpart on PLA Navy development, 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, 24 April 2020).
If you have trouble accessing […]

24 April 2020

Latest Edition of Hot New CRS Report: “Renewed Great Power Competition”

Ronald O’Rourke, Renewed Great Power Competition: Implications for Defense—Issues for Congress, R43838 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 7 April 2020).
If you have trouble accessing the website above, please download a cached copy here.
You can also click here to access the report via the new public CRS website.
Summary
Many observers have concluded that the post-Cold War era of international relations—which […]

23 April 2020

Economic Statecraft: Options for Reducing U.S. Overdependence on Chinese-supplied Materials and Medications

Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, Economic Statecraft: Options for Reducing U.S. Overdependence on Chinese-supplied Materials and Medications (Houston, TX: Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University, 23 April 2020).

This policy report explains how specific tools of economic statecraft can be applied to reduce risks caused by dependence on People’s Republic of China-dominated supply chains […]

15 April 2020

Apollo 13’s Lifeboat Fifty Years On: Remembering Grumman’s Lunar Module and Program Director Joe Gavin

I saw the movie Apollo 13 with him. Now let me tell you the forgotten story of how he and his team helped rescue the astronauts while the world watched and waited…
Andrew S. Erickson, “Apollo 13’s Lifeboat Fifty Years On: Remembering Grumman’s Lunar Module and Program Director Joe Gavin,” China Analysis from Original Sources 以第一手资料研究中国, 15 […]

10 April 2020

The Complete Peter Dutton Bookshelf: China’s Law of the Sea Approaches, Maritime Sovereignty Claims and Operations & Geostrategy

For nearly two decades, Naval War College professor (2004-) and former China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) director (2011-19) Peter A. Dutton has played a leading role in analyzing and interpreting China’s disputed island and maritime sovereignty claims, efforts to promote them, and broader geostrategic goals and trajectory. He has done so for the scholarly and policy communities, […]

07 April 2020

The China Maritime Militia Bookshelf: Latest Data & Official Statements + My Fact Sheet & Recommendations

CHINA’S MARITIME MILITIA: DATA & ANALYSIS

Tracking China’s “Little Blue Men”—A Comprehensive Maritime Militia Compendium
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 that governments whose nations’ ships have […]

03 April 2020

CMSI China Maritime Report #6: “Djibouti: China’s First Overseas Strategic Strongpoint”

A superb new contribution from my colleagues!
Peter A. Dutton, Isaac B. Kardon, and Conor M. Kennedy, Djibouti: China’s First Overseas Strategic Strongpoint, China Maritime Report 6 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, April 2020).
China’s first overseas strategic strongpoint at Djibouti is a secure commercial foothold on the African continent and a military platform for expanding […]

02 April 2020

Japanese Translation of “China’s Maritime Gray Zone Operations”—中国の海洋強国戦略:グレーゾーン作戦と展開 (日本語)

アンドリュー・S・エリクソン (編集), ライアン・D・マーティンソン (編集), 五味 睦佳 (翻訳), 大野 慶二 (翻訳), 木村 初夫 (翻訳), 五島 浩司 (翻訳), 杉本 正彦 (翻訳), 武居 智久 (翻訳), 山本 勝也 (翻訳) [Andrew S. Erickson (Editor), Ryan D. Martinson (Editor), Gumi Mutsuka (Translator), Ohno Keiji (Translator), Kimura Hatsuo (Translator), Goto Koji (Translator), Sugimoto Masahiko (Translator), Tomohisa Takei (translator), and Katsuya Yamamoto (translator)]; 中国の海洋強国戦略:グレーゾーン作戦と展開 (日本語) [China’s Maritime Power Strategy: Strategy and Deployment in Gray Zone (Japanese translation of China’s Maritime […]

01 April 2020

China Has World’s Largest Navy, Coast Guard & Maritime Militia—Latest ed. of “Modern Chinese Maritime Forces” Has Unmatched Detail!

Manfred Meyer (edited by Larry Bond and Chris Carlson), Modern Chinese Maritime Forces (Admiralty Trilogy Group, 1 April 2020).

“A compilation of all 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 […]

29 March 2020

New ed. of CRS Report—“China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities”—Has Projections to 2030 from Office of Naval Intelligence!

Ronald O’Rourke, China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress, RL33153 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 18 March 2020).
Having trouble accessing the website above? Please download a cached copy here!
You can also click here to access the report via the new public CRS website.
In addition to his continuous incremental improvements, Ronald O’Rourke has revised this latest edition […]

29 March 2020

The Ryan Martinson Bookshelf: Must-Read Revelations re China’s Maritime Policies, Sea Forces & Oceanic Operations

For analysis of Chinese maritime policy and China Coast Guard development, it simply doesn’t get any better than this. Enjoy this fully updated one-stop library of my colleague Ryan Martinson’s work. It’s well worth reading all of these superb publications and interviews, even as they approach three dozen in number!
Ryan D. Martinson is an Assistant […]

29 March 2020

Counter-Intervention in Chinese Naval Strategy

Ryan D. Martinson, “Counter-Intervention in Chinese Naval Strategy,” Journal of Strategic Studies, published online 27 March 2020.
ABSTRACT
The prospect of U.S. military involvement in a regional war looms large in Chinese naval strategy. This article examines the Chinese Navy’s evolving role in countering U.S. military intervention in a conflict over Chinese-claimed offshore islands. This role has […]

28 March 2020

Dr. John W. Tai reviews “China’s Maritime Gray Zone Operations” in The Air Force Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs

Dr. John W. Tai; review of Andrew S. Erickson and Ryan D. Martinson, eds., China’s Maritime Gray Zone Operations (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2019); The Air Force Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs 3.1 (Spring 2020): 95-96.
China’s increasingly assertive—many would say aggressive—actions in the South China and East China Seas have captured the attention of the media and policy and academic […]

24 March 2020

China SignPost™ #101: “Time to Curb America’s Manufacturing Dependency on China”

Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “Time to Curb America’s Manufacturing Dependency on China,” China SignPost™ (洞察中国) 101 (24 March 2020).
Coronavirus Crisis Offers an Opportunity to Revitalize U.S./North American Manufacturing, Restore Regional Partnerships, Reduce Dependence on Beijing
Whether between people or countries, co-dependency relationships rarely work well over time when the understandings undergirding them erode. It’s […]

23 March 2020

China SignPost™ 洞察中国 Presentation: “Pandemic & Price War: Early Energy Market Insights from the 2019-20 Wuhan Coronavirus Outbreak”

Gabriel B. Collins, “Pandemic and Price War: Early Energy Market Insights From the 2019-2020 Wuhan Coronavirus Outbreak,” Research Presentation, China SignPost™ (洞察中国), 20 March 2020. 
Click here to download full slide deck.

Executive Summary

The coronavirus is likely the biggest global oil demand shock for China and other major industrial powers in the past 50 years, exceeding even the impact of the […]

18 March 2020

Key CRS Report Offers Major China/Russia Coverage! “U.S. Role in the World: Background & Issues for Congress”

Ronald O’Rourke, U.S. Role in the World: Background & Issues for Congress R44891 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 12 March 2020).
If you have trouble accessing the website above, please download a cached copy here.
You can also click here to access the report via the new public CRS website.
Summary
The U.S. role in the world refers to the overall character, purpose, or […]

18 March 2020

Hot off the Press! New CRS Report Tackles Timely Topic: “Renewed Great Power Competition”

Ronald O’Rourke, Renewed Great Power Competition: Implications for Defense—Issues for Congress, R43838 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 12 March 2020).
If you have trouble accessing the website above, please download a cached copy here.
You can also click here to access the report via the new public CRS website.
Summary
Many observers have concluded that the post-Cold War era of international relations—which […]

18 March 2020

New! O’Rourke’s CRS Report (102nd ed.) Offers Latest on CCG, PAFMM—“U.S.-China Strategic Competition in South & East China Seas: Background & Issues for Congress”

Now in its 102nd iteration, not far behind its counterpart on PLA Navy development, 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, 13 March 2020).
If you have trouble accessing […]