Andrew S. Erickson

Shashank Joshi, “So You Want to Be an Indian Armed Forces Expert?” War on the Rocks, 23 June 2015.
Peter Mattis’ explanation of what one should read to be an expert on China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) made me wonder: What might a similar list look like for India-watchers? …
Each service has its own doctrine and/or strategy […]

Andrew S. Erickson and Gabriel B. Collins, “Dragon Tracks: Emerging Chinese Access Points in the Indian Ocean Region,” Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, Center for Strategic and International Studies, 18 June 2015.
With six-plus-years of Chinese Gulf of Aden anti-piracy operations and China’s first submarine deployments to the Indian Ocean, considering possible support facilities for the People’s […]

Andrew Chubb, “Luconia Breakers: China’s New ‘Southernmost Territory’ in the South China Sea?” South Sea Conversations, 16 June 2015.
In a vivid illustration of how dynamic the status quo in the South China Sea can be, an apparently new Spratly island, formed by the forces of nature, has become a source of tension between China and Malaysia.
Luconia Breakers (Hempasan Bantin / 琼台礁) […]

Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “China’s Stock Market Boom: Buckle Up for a Wild Ride!” China SignPost™ (洞察中国) 89 (14 June 2015).

China seems to be bubble surfing—two years ago it was an overheated housing market—and now the country is riding a surge of stock market enthusiasm. The stock market craze involves a much […]

Ronald O’Rourke, China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 1 June 2015), RL33153.
Summary
China is building a modern and regionally powerful Navy with a modest but growing capability for conducting operations beyond China’s near-seas region. The question of how the United States should respond to China’s military modernization effort, including its […]

Be sure to read both articles, as well as Christensen’s book. They offer needed nuance regarding key dynamics concerning a vital subject in a troubling time.
Thomas J. Christensen, “China’s Military Might: The Good News,” Japan Times, 8 June 2015.
…While China’s buildup indeed creates security challenges for the U.S. and its Asian allies, the consequences are more […]

Alexander Sullivan and Andrew S. Erickson, “The Big Story Behind China’s New Military Strategy,” The Diplomat, 5 June 2015.
China is becoming “more willing and able” to stake and defend its interests overseas.
As China reemerges as one of the globe’s leading powers, just what type of actor it will be on the world stage has become […]

Evan deserves a good rest after years of tireless service!
David Nakamura, “Top White House adviser on Asia policy is stepping down,” Washington Post, 4 June 2015.
President Obama’s top adviser on Asia policy is leaving his post at a time of growing uncertainty over China’s assertive behavior in the region, raising questions over the administration’s strategy […]

Elizabeth C. Economy, “China’s Muddled Message on the South China Sea,” Asia Unbound, Council on Foreign Relations, 3 July 2015.
If the recent Shangri-La Dialogue demonstrated one thing—aside from the fact that Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong can deliver an important speech that is both strong and subtle—it is that mitigating tensions in the South China Sea […]

This is truly a brilliant analysis. In just a few hundred words, it explains cogently why and how Beijing’s maritime strategy has evolved under Xi Jinping, and suggests what the future may hold for China’s efforts at sea.
Ryan Martinson, “A Salt Water Perspective on China’s New Military Strategy,” RealClearDefense, 2 June 2015.
Seasoned PLA watcher Dennis […]

Thomas J. Christensen, The China Challenge: Shaping the Choices of a Rising Power (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2015).
FROM THE PUBLISHER
This compelling assessment of U.S.-China relations is essential reading for anyone interested in the future of the globalized world.
Many see China as a rival superpower to the United States and imagine the country’s […]

Peter Mattis, “So You Want to Be a PLA Expert?” War on the Rocks, 2 June 2015.
One of the challenges of developing a good sense of how the PLA functions is that there are so few places to go for regularly appearing analysis that draws on Chinese sources. Instead of being able to go to […]

William D. Bushnell,  review of  Carnes Lord and Andrew S. Erickson, eds., Rebalancing U.S. Forces: Basing and Forward Presence in the Asia-Pacific (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2014); in Military Officer (May 2015): 23.
Military Officer is the monthly publication of the Military Officers Association of America.
“In view of strict fiscal constraints, the closure of many U.S. bases overseas, America’s focus […]

Trenchant analysis by the ever-sharp Bonnie Glaser. She highlights what was indeed a missed opportunity for Beijing: Admiral Sun Jianguo’s “unwillingness to respond to any of the questions posed left the impression that China could care less about others’ concerns and will stay the course in the South China Sea regardless.” To me, the real […]

孙建国上将 [Admiral Sun Jianguo], 中国人民解放军副总参谋长 [Deputy Chief of PLA General Staff Department], “携手同护和平 共建安全亚太” [***Rough Translation***: Work Together With Care to Build a Peaceful and Secure Asia-Pacific], 在第十四届香格里拉对话会上的发言 [Speech at 14th Shangri-La Dialogue], Singapore, 国防部网 [China Ministry of National Defense Website], 31 May 2015.

Superb analysis from Dennis Blasko on China’s recently released defense white paper on strategy. A disciplined adherent to what might be termed a strict “zero-based budgeting” approach to analysis, Blasko never makes statements that cannot be supported with extremely specific, contextualized, well-documented evidence. When he makes the bold, underlined statements below, therefore, everyone should pay […]

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ASH CARTER, 
“A REGIONAL SECURITY ARCHITECTURE WHERE EVERYONE RISES,” 
IISS SHANGRI-LA DIALOGUE, SINGAPORE, SATURDAY, MAY 30, 2015
Thank you, John, for that kind introduction. And thank you for sponsoring this remarkable forum. Over its history, IISS has hosted invaluable conversations like the Shangri-La Dialogue and produced important scholarship. Through it all, you’ve made […]

Andrew S. Erickson, “Did the Game Just Change in the South China Sea? (And What Should the U.S. Do About It?),” A ChinaFile Conversation, The Asia Society, 29 May 2015.
As the 14th annual Asia Security Summit—or the Shangri-la Dialogue, as it has come to be known—gets underway in Singapore, we asked contributors to comment on what […]

I stand by my blurb most enthusiastically: “Uncertainty and limited data have left too much of PLA studies an artisanal hodgepodge. Peter Mattis helps bring the field into the information age with this invaluable resource. Required reading for all serious analysts of China security and students of qualitative methodology.”
Peter Mattis, Analyzing the Chinese Military: A Review […]