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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.

08 May 2018

The Complete China Maritime Militia Bookshelf: Just Updated

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 […]

08 May 2018

The Ryan Martinson Bookshelf–Unique Insights into China’s Coast Guard, Maritime Policies, and Activities at Sea

For analysis of Chinese maritime policy and China Coast Guard development, it simply doesn’t get any better than this. Enjoy this one-stop library of my colleague Ryan Martinson’s work. It’s well worth reading all 20 of these superb publications!

Ryan D. Martinson, Echelon Defense: The Role of Sea Power in Chinese Maritime Dispute Strategy, Naval War College China […]

03 May 2018

Revisiting the U.S.-Soviet Space Race: Comparing Two Systems in Their Competition to Land a Man on the Moon

Andrew S. Erickson, “Revisiting the U.S.-Soviet Space Race: Comparing Two Systems in Their Competition to Land a Man on the Moon,” Acta Astronautica, accepted manuscript (available online 2 May 2018).
Abstract
The Cold War space competition between the U.S. and the USSR, centered on their race to the moon, offers both an important historical case and larger […]

03 May 2018

Naval War College Publishes Ryan Martinson’s CMSI ‘Red Book’ #15—“Echelon Defense: The Role of Sea Power in Chinese Maritime Dispute Strategy”

Ryan D. Martinson, Echelon Defense: The Role of Sea Power in Chinese Maritime Dispute Strategy, Naval War College China Maritime Study 15 (February 2018).
Keywords
Chinese maritime, dispute, echelon defense, sea power
ISBN
9781935352648
If you have trouble accessing the link above, please download a cached copy here.
CMSI is pleased to present the China Maritime Studies Institute’s latest monograph in its Red Book series, […]

03 May 2018

Latest Version of O’Rourke’s CRS Report—“China’s Maritime Territorial & Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Disputes”—Includes Maritime Militia Analysis

Ronald O’Rourke, Maritime Territorial and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Disputes Involving China: Issues for Congress, R42784 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 26 April 2018).

If you have trouble accessing the website above, please download a cached copy here.
KEY EXCERPTS:
1972 CONVENTION ON PREVENTING COLLISIONS AT SEA (COLREGs)………………………………… 14
p. 14
1972 Convention on Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs)
China and the United States, as […]

03 May 2018

Brand-new Edition of Ronald O’Rourke’s Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report: “China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress”

Ronald O’Rourke, China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress, RL33153 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 25 April 2018).

If you have trouble accessing the website above, please download a cached copy here.
Summary
The question of how the United States should respond to China’s military modernization effort, including its naval modernization effort, is a key issue in […]

29 April 2018

China-Related Insights from Admiral Philip Davidson, USN; Incoming Commander, U.S. Pacific Command

Admiral Philip S. Davidson, USN, Testimony before United States Senate Committee on Armed Services, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC, Tuesday, April 17, 2018.
Advance Policy Questions for Admiral Philip S. Davidson, USN Expected Nominee for Commander, U.S. Pacific Command.
Click here to read the Stenographic Transcript.
CHINA-RELATED EXCERPTS FOLLOW:

Major Challenges and Priorities
In your view, what are […]

20 April 2018

The Complete Peter Dutton Bookshelf: China’s Maritime Legal Approaches, Sovereignty Claims, Activities & Geostrategy

For well over a decade, Naval War College professor and China Maritime Studies Institute director 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, the U.S. Navy, […]

19 April 2018

Foreign Affairs just published my review of Anne-Marie Brady’s landmark Cambridge University Press book, China as a Polar Great Power

Andrew S. Erickson; review of Anne-Marie Brady, China as a Polar Great Power (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2017); Foreign Affairs 97.3 (May/June 2018): 208-09.
In this study of China’s efforts to become the only nation other than the United States capable of operating comprehensively in both the Arctic and Antarctica, Brady opens up a new frontier of […]

16 April 2018

Cornell Contemporary China Initiative Lecture—“The People’s Republic at Sea: Great Power with ‘Chinese Characteristics’”

Andrew S. Erickson, “The People’s Republic at Sea: Great Power with ‘Chinese Characteristics’,” Contemporary China Initiative Lecture, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 9 April 2018.

Click here to watch a video of the lecture.
 Monday, April 9, 2018, 4:30pm to 6:00pm
Goldwin Smith Hall, G64, Kaufmann Auditorium
232 East Ave, Central Campus
The Cornell Contemporary China Initiative Lecture Series, featuring interdisciplinary […]

07 April 2018

CMSI Director Peter Dutton’s Pioneering Scholarship: China’s Maritime Legal Approaches, Sovereignty Claims, Activities, and Geostrategy

For well over a decade, Naval War College professor and China Maritime Studies Institute director 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, the U.S. Navy, […]

10 March 2018

The Complete China Maritime Militia Bookshelf: Latest & Greatest

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 […]

10 March 2018

New China Security Report from Japan’s National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS) Mentions “Maritime Militia”! Access Complete Set of English/Japanese/Chinese Reports (Dating to 2010) Here.

On p. 57, the 2018 report from Japan’s National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS), entitled “The China-US Relationship at a Crossroads,” does what the U.S. government should have done at the time, and has suffered unfortunate consequences for failing to do. In “Table 3-2: Major Actions Taken by China in the South China Sea,” under […]

05 March 2018

Xi’s Strong Military Dream: China’s Defense Budget to Grow 8.1% to ~$175 billion This Year, Rate Exceeds ~6.5% Economic Growth Target

A major announcement today from the National People’s Congress in Beijing: China’s defense budget will grow by 8.1% to ~$175 billion (1.11 trillion yuan) this year, a rate increase from the 7% in 2017. This latest raise represents a reversal of three years of slowing growth. It exceeds this year’s economic growth target of ~6.5%.
Here’s […]

26 February 2018

Numbers Matter: China’s Three ‘Navies’ Each Have the World’s Most Ships

Andrew S. Erickson, “Numbers Matter: China’s Three ‘Navies’ Each Have the World’s Most Ships,” The National Interest, 26 February 2018.
Numerical superiority allows China’s second and third sea forces to flood the maritime gray zone in ways that its neighbors, as well as the United States, may find very hard to counter.
As a friend’s five-year-old puts it, […]

15 February 2018

PACOM Commander Admiral Harris Testifies: “Across the South China Sea, China’s air force, navy, coast guard, and maritime militia all maintain a robust presence.”

Statement of Admiral Harry B. Harris Jr., U.S. Navy, Commander, U.S. Pacific Command, before the House Armed Services Committee on U.S. Pacific Command Posture, Washington, DC, 14 February 2018.
“Across the South China Sea, China’s air force, navy, coast guard, and maritime militia all maintain a robust presence. Routine patrols and exercises ensure Chinese forces are […]

14 February 2018

The Complete China Maritime Militia Bookshelf: Latest & Greatest

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 […]

14 February 2018

Military Balance 2018 Addresses China’s Maritime Militia: “Reports to PLA command and trains to assist PLAN and CCG in a variety of military roles”

“Chapter 6: Asia,” The Military Balance 118:1 (London: International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2018), 259.
p. 259
“Maritime Militia
Made up of full- and part-time personnel. Reports to PLA command and trains to assist PLAN and CCG in a variety of military roles. These include ISR, maritime law enforcement, island supply, troop transport and supporting sovereignty claims. The […]

06 February 2018

Book Launch at Harvard Coop—The China Questions—Wednesday 7 February, 7:00-8:30 PM

Join the editors and contributors to The China Questions for a book launch at the Harvard Coop’s Event Series.
DATE AND TIME
Wed, February 7, 2018
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM EST
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LOCATION
Harvard Coop
1400 Mass Avenue 
Cambridge, MA 02138 
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Join editors Jennifer Rudolph and Michael Szonyi, and contributors Peter Bol, Andrew Erickson, Susan Greenhalgh, Wai-yee Li, and Karen Thornber, at the […]