Andrew S. Erickson

The clock is ticking toward an unclear, but clearly worrisome, future. As Beijing prepares to implement a popularly-opposed National Security Law that effectively invalidates core One Country, Two Systems-promised protections, risks are mounting for Hong Kongers. Under assault: some of their most cherished values and freedoms, and Hong Kong’s much-touted status as Asia’s World City.
Hong Kong’s […]

Andrew S. Erickson, “China’s Official 2020 Defense Budget to Rise 6.6% to $178 Billion (1.27 Trillion Yuan): Lowest Growth Rate Since 1988 Exceeds All Other Major Nations’,” China Analysis from Original Sources 以第一手资料研究中国, 22 May 2020.
The draft budget report disseminated today at Beijing’s Two Sessions annual meeting of the National People’s Congress (NPC) and National […]

Be sure to read this hard-hitting document in full!
STATEMENTS & RELEASES
Text of a Letter to Certain Congressional Committees on the United States Strategic Approach to the People’s Republic of China
NATIONAL SECURITY & DEFENSE
Issued on: May 21, 2020
May 19, 2020
Dear Mr. Chairman:  (Dear Madam Chairwoman:)
Consistent with section 1261 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year […]

Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “Should the United States Reduce Its Dependence on China?” Policy Matters podcast, Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University, Houston, TX, 19 May 2020.
The Covid-19 pandemic has reignited the debate about our national dependence on Chinese raw materials and manufactured goods. Why should we be concerned about such dependence? […]

As one might expect from Dr. Yoshihara, this is a superb analysis of a vital yet under-researched topic. Its compelling arguments are well supported with a panoply of important Chinese publications, together with references to landmark Japanese works. In an era in which Chinese-language sources are increasingly prized but not always contextualized and curated effectively […]

Ronald O’Rourke, Renewed Great Power Competition: Implications for Defense—Issues for Congress, R43838 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 1 May 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 […]

Now in its 105th 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, 1 May 2020).
If you have trouble accessing […]

Andrew S. Erickson, “Energy Dimensions of the Evolving U.S.-China Strategic Relationship,” Center for Energy Studies, Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University, Houston, TX, presentation in webinar via Zoom, 8 May 2020.
Click here to watch the webinar on YouTube.
Gabriel Collins of the Baker Institute’s Center for Energy Studies and Andrew Erickson of the U.S. Naval […]

Faculty Position Vacancy (Director of the China Maritime Studies Institute, SORD, CNWS)
Click here to read the full ad!
View posting in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Job announcement number:  VA#NWC-20-07
Department:  Strategic and Operational Research Department, Center for Naval War Studies
Location:  U.S. Naval War College, Newport, RI
PP-Series-GR:  AD-1701-05/07
Open Period:  Wednesday, 6 May 2020 through Monday, 22 June 2020
Position:  […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]