Andrew S. Erickson

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).

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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 […]

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).

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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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

“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 […]

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 […]

Nuclear Posture Review (Arlington, VA: Office of the Secretary of Defense, February 2018).
Click here to download a full-text PDF of the officially-released report.
Read Executive Summary in English, РУССКИЙ, 中文, 한국어, 日本語, or FRANÇAIS.
Key China-Related Excerpts:
p. 2
The United States remains committed to its efforts in support of the ultimate global elimination of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. […]

From SupChina: “Your brain needs expanding, and you need to buy gifts for your smart friends! We’re here to help with our selection of books recommended by our editors.”
“All the books on our [2017 winter reading] list have been published within the past six months. If you think we’ve left out something important, please let […]

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 […]

Self-Study Syllabus on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (American Mandarin Society, 15 January 2018).
Suggest edits here.
“This syllabus is organized to build understanding of the PLA in a step-by-step fashion based on one hour of reading five nights a week for four weeks. In total, the key readings add up to roughly 800 pages, rarely more than […]