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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 February 2019

Senate Armed Services Committee Testimony by Admiral Philip S. Davidson, Commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command on INDOPACOM Posture—Includes pithy China content

Statement of Admiral Philip S. Davidson, U.S. Navy, Commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command before the Senate Armed Services Committee on U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Posture, Hearing on United States Indo-Pacific Command and United States Forces Korea, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC, 12 February 2019.
 p. 5
China: Military Modernization.
Over the last 20 years, Beijing has undertaken a massive […]

11 February 2019

The China Maritime Militia Bookshelf: Complete with Latest Recommendations & Fact Sheet

INFORMATION & ANALYSIS CONCERNING CHINA’S MARITIME MILITIA:

Tracking China’s “Little Blue Men”—A Comprehensive Maritime Militia Compendium
Rarely is a topic so little recognized and so little understood, yet so important and so amenable to research using Chinese-language open sources… To increase awareness and understanding of this important subject, here is a convenient compendium of major publications and […]

11 February 2019

New DIA Report—“Challenges to Security in Space”—Offers Copious China-Related Information

Challenges to Security in Space (Washington, DC: Defense Intelligence Agency, January 2019).
Click here to download a cached copy.
 p. iii
Executive Summary
Space-based capabilities provide integral support to military, commercial, and civilian applications. Longstanding technological and cost barriers to space are falling, enabling more countries and commercial firms to participate in satellite construction, space launch, space exploration, and human […]

11 February 2019

Major New CRS Report with Substantial China Coverage: “Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress”

Ronald O’Rourke, Coordinator; Jane A. Leggett; Laura B. Comay; Jonathan L. Ramseur; Peter Folger; Pervaze A. Sheikh; John Frittelli; Harold F. Upton; and Marc Humphries, Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress, R41153 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 7 February 2019).
Click here to download a cached copy.
Of special interest:

pp. 52-74: Arctic geopolitical environment
pp. […]

11 February 2019

“China’s Actions in South & East China Seas: Implications for U.S. Interests—Background & Issues for Congress”—New Edition of O’Rourke’s CRS Report Highlights Coast Guard & Maritime Militia

Ronald O’Rourke, China’s Actions in South and East China Seas: Implications for U.S. Interests—Background and Issues for Congress, R42784 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 31 January 2019).
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.
 
KEY EXCERPTS:
USE OF CHINA COAST GUARD SHIPS […]

07 February 2019

“Strategic Asia 2019: China’s Expanding Strategic Ambitions”—Rollout Event on China’s Rise & the International Order for New NBR Volume—Today from 10:00 AM-1:45 PM

The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) held a discussion and luncheon to mark the release of the eighteenth volume in the Strategic Asia series: Strategic Asia 2019: China’s Expanding Strategic Ambitions, edited by Ashley J. Tellis, Alison Szalwinski, and Michael Wills.
This event features remarks by Strategic Asia Program Research Director Ashley J. Tellis as well as two […]

30 January 2019

Competitive Coexistence: An American Concept for Managing U.S.-China Relations

Here I propose a new American vision for U.S.-China relations in this challenging new era: the pursuit of “Competitive Coexistence.” This entails engaging sustained Great Power Competition amid the reality of continued PRC existence. Based on the advice I’ve provided to key American officials over the past several years, my definition of this paradigm contains four pillars: (1) Don’t […]

28 January 2019

Maritime Numbers Game: Understanding and Responding to China’s Three Sea Forces

Andrew S. Erickson, “Maritime Numbers Game: Understanding and Responding to China’s Three Sea Forces,” Indo-Pacific Defense Forum Magazine 43.4 (December 2018): 30-35.

Published online by U.S. Indo-Pacific Command on 28 January 2019.
Extensive coverage in David Axe, “U.S. Navy Nightmare: The Chinese Fleet Doesn’t Have 300 Ships, It Has 650—You Have to Count the Chinese Coast Guard and […]

26 January 2019

China’s Rise & the International Order—Register Now for 7 February DC Rollout Event for New NBR Volume “Strategic Asia 2019: China’s Expanding Strategic Ambitions”

The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) invites you to join them for a discussion and luncheon to mark the release of the eighteenth volume in the Strategic Asia series: Strategic Asia 2019: China’s Expanding Strategic Ambitions, edited by Ashley J. Tellis, Alison Szalwinski, and Michael Wills.
This event will feature remarks by Strategic Asia Program Research Director Ashley J. […]

26 January 2019

The China Maritime Militia Bookshelf: Complete with Latest Recommendations & Fact Sheet

INFORMATION & ANALYSIS CONCERNING CHINA’S MARITIME MILITIA:

Tracking China’s “Little Blue Men”—A Comprehensive Maritime Militia Compendium
Rarely is a topic so little recognized and so little understood, yet so important and so amenable to research using Chinese-language open sources… To increase awareness and understanding of this important subject, here is a convenient compendium of major publications and […]

25 January 2019

My chapter on “Power vs. Distance: China’s Global Maritime Interests and Investments in the Far Seas” in NBR’s New Volume—Strategic Asia 2019: China’s Expanding Strategic Ambitions

Andrew S. Erickson, “Power vs. Distance: China’s Global Maritime Interests and Investments in the Far Seas,” in Ashley J. Tellis, Alison Szalwinski, and Michael Wills, eds., Strategic Asia 2019: China’s Expanding Strategic Ambitions (Seattle, WA: National Bureau of Asia Research, 2019), 247-77.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

An examination of China’s maritime power projection along a continuum of national interests and […]

25 January 2019

National Air & Space Intelligence Center Report—“Competing in Space”—Highlights China’s Major Achievements & Goals

Competing in Space (National Air and Space Intelligence Center/NASIC: Wright-Patterson AFB, OH, December 2018).
Click here to download a cached copy.
 
Key quotes and correlation with other U.S. government statements:
Bill Gertz, “Pentagon: Chinese Military Units Training with ASAT Missiles—China, Russia Militarizing Space to Challenge U.S.,” Washington Free Beacon, 23 January 2019.
 
KEY CHINA-RELATED EXCERPTS FROM REPORT:
 p. 1
After the Cold […]

24 January 2019

2019 National Intelligence Strategy: Full-Text Report & Key Quotes

2019 National Intelligence Strategy (Office of the Director of National Intelligence, McLean, VA: January 2019).
This National Intelligence Strategy (NIS) provides the Intelligence Community (IC) with strategic direction from the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) for the next four years. It supports the national security priorities outlined in the National Security Strategy as well as other […]

21 January 2019

New Pentagon-Sponsored White Paper: “AI, China, Russia, and the Global Order: Technological, Political, Global, and Creative Perspectives”

AI, China, Russia, and the Global Order: Technological, Political, Global, and Creative Perspectives (Arlington, VA: Department of Defense, December 2018).
Click here to download a cached copy.
Contributors: Ahmed, S. (UC Berkeley); Bajema, N. (NDU); Bendett, S. (CNA); Chang, B. (MIT); Creemers, R. (Leiden University); Demchak, C. (Naval War College); Denton, S. (George Mason University); Ding, J. (Oxford); […]

20 January 2019

Pentagon’s 2019 Missile Defense Review Confirms Important Information: “China Has the World’s Most Active Ballistic Missile Development Program & is Developing HGVs”

2019 Missile Defense Review (Arlington, VA: Office of the Secretary of Defense, 17 January 2019).
 Watch President Trump announce the results of the administration’s missile defense review at the Pentagon on 17 January 2019.
Read the Executive Summary here.
Click here to download a cached copy.
 
Breaking analysis:
Thomas Karako, Senior Fellow, International Security Program and Director, Missile Defense Project, […]

19 January 2019

The Coast Guard is a U.S. Armed Service. Here’s what it secures, why that matters & why it must be paid now for its vital work…

Never thought I’d have to help build awareness regarding Coast Guard service members’ irreplaceable work, but here we are…
The Coast Guard is a U.S. Armed Service whose uniformed personnel safeguard America’s long sea border and enormous exclusive economic zone, both of which are among the world’s very greatest.
Coastguardsmen have served in every American military […]

15 January 2019

Defense Intelligence Agency Report—“China Military Power: Modernizing a Force to Fight and Win”—Highlights People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia

China Military Power: Modernizing a Force to Fight and Win (Washington, DC: Defense Intelligence Agency, 2019).
Click here to download a cached copy.
Watch the accompanying video here.
Defense Intelligence Agency Releases Report on China Military Power
By DIA Public Affairs

Washington, D.C., Jan. 15, 2019 —Washington, D.C. – (January 15, 2019) The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) today released China Military […]

15 January 2019

Admiral John Richardson, Chief of Naval Operations: “It important for… the People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia, to operate in a safe and professional manner, in accordance with international law”

“CNO Visits China, Underscores Importance of Professional Interaction at Sea,” Navy.mil, 15 January 2019.
Story Number: NNS190115-13
Release Date: 1/15/2019 2:46:00 PM
From Chief of Naval Operations Public Affairs
NANJING, China (NNS) — Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. John Richardson visited China and met with senior Chinese defense officials, Jan. 13 to 16, to discuss professional interactions at […]

15 January 2019

New Pentagon Report to Congress: U.S. Defense Implications of China’s Expanding Global Access

Assessment on United States Defense Implications of China’s Expanding Global Access, Supplemental Report to Congress: U.S. Defense Implications of China’s Expanding Global Access (as required by statute) (Arlington, VA: Department of Defense, 20 December 2018).
Click here to download a cached copy.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report assesses China’s global expansion by military and nonmilitary means, implications of […]