Andrew S. Erickson

This provocative piece raises difficult issues that cannot be ignored…
William Kyle, “The US Navy and the Pivot: Less Means Less,” The Diplomat, 31 March 2014.
Five years of Obama administration foreign policy are in the history books as the world continues to move beyond the era of the Global War on Terror. While the jury is […]

Andrew S. Erickson, “Keeping the Near Seas Peaceful: American and Allied Mission, Asia-Pacific Interest,” in Richard Pearson, ed., East China Sea Tensions, Perspectives and Implications (Washington, DC: Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, 2014), 23-30.
By any measure, China’s economy and defense budget are second in size only to those of the United States. China is already a world-class […]

John Kennedy, Director of Education, Naval War College Museum, “Authors Examine China’s Anti-Piracy Efforts,” Newport Navalog 114.9 (7 March 2014), 8.
Professor Andrew Erickson discussed his new book, No Substitute for Experience: Chinese Antipiracy Operations in the Gulf of Aden, on Feb. 27 at the Naval War College Museum’s Eight Bells Lecture Series. Co-written with Austin Strange, the book […]

Michael T. Flynn, Lieutenant General, U.S. Army, Director, Defense Intelligence Agency, “Annual Threat Assessment,” Statement Before the Senate Armed Services Committee, United States Senate, Washington, DC, 11 February 2014.
Here are the China-relevant excerpts from Lt. Gen. Flynn’s recent testimony. I’ve bolded and underlined the ones I believe to be most interesting and important. These include:

details on China’s growing foreign military sales
confirmation that negotiations remain ongoing for Su-35 sale (I think China is especially interested in the Saturn 117S/AL-41F1A […]

“China’s Military Spending: At the Double,” The Economist, 15 March 2014.
China’s fast-growing defence budget worries its neighbours, but not every trend is in its favour …
In one of the biggest military reforms for years, announced in January, China is now attempting to create a Western-style structure of joint command. But that may prove a long […]

“Beijing’s Breakneck Defense Spending Poses a Challenge to the U.S.,” Editorial, Washington Post, 12 March 2014.
CHINA PRESENTS the rest of the world with a puzzle when it announces, each year, another big leap in defense spending. On March 5, it revealed a 12.2 percent increase over last year, to almost $132 billion, the second-largest military budget in the world after […]

Andrew S. Erickson, “No Substitute for Experience: Chinese Anti-Piracy Operations in the Gulf of Aden,” Eight Bells Book Lecture, Naval War College Museum, Newport, RI, 27 February 2014.
Click here to watch the video on YouTube.
Volume covered in lecture:
Andrew S. Erickson and Austin M. Strange, No Substitute for Experience: Chinese Anti-Piracy Operations in the Gulf of Aden, […]

Ronald O’Rourke, China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 28 February 2014), 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 […]

Zachary Keck, “China’s Defense Budget: A Mixed Bag,” The Diplomat, 8 March 2014.
For the U.S. and its allies, China’s new defense budget contains both bad news and good news. …
Let’s begin with the bad. First, as is well known, China’s military spending in 2014 is almost certain to far exceed $132 billion, as Beijing is […]

Edward Wong, “China Announces 12.2% Increase in Military Budget,” New York Times, 5 March 2014.
… Andrew S. Erickson, an associate professor at the U.S. Naval War College, said that China’s military spending growth was impressive but could slow, given that it is dependent on the nation’s overall economic health.
“China’s military budget growth continues to steam […]

Andrew S. Erickson and Adam P. Liff, “Full Steam Ahead: China’s Ever-Increasing Military Budget,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 5 March 2014.
China’s official defense budget is projected to increase 12.2% in 2014 to roughly 808 billion yuan ($132 Billion), while the country’s economic growth is expected to hold steady at 7.5%, according […]

“China Defense Budget to Increase 12.2% in 2014,” Xinhua, 5 March 2014.
Updated: 2014-03-05 09:18
BEIJING – China plans to raise its defense budget by 12.2 percent to 808.2 billion yuan (about $132 billion) in 2014, according to a budget report to be reviewed by the national legislature on Wednesday.
In 2013, the country spent 720.197 billion yuan on […]

Andrew S. Erickson, “Chinese Air- and Space-Based ISR: Integrating Aerospace Combat Capabilities over the Near Seas,” in Peter A. Dutton, Andrew S. Erickson, and Ryan D. Martinson, eds., China’s Near Seas Combat Capabilities, Naval War College China Maritime Study 11 (February 2014), 87–117.

China’s progressively more potent naval platforms, aircraft, and missiles are increasingly capable of holding U.S. Navy platforms and their supporting assets at risk in the […]

Peter A. Dutton, Andrew S. Erickson, and Ryan D. Martinson, eds., China’s Near Seas Combat Capabilities, Naval War College China Maritime Study 11 (February 2014).

This edited volume explores China’s claims and capabilities within and around the ‘First Island Chain,’ the so-called ‘Near Seas.’ It assesses the rapidly evolving situations of concern in the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea, and […]

“Essential Reading: Pacific Overtures: A New US Study Calls Into Question the Viability of Major USN Fleet Elements,” Important New Strategic Literature; 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); Defense & Foreign Affairs Special Analysis 32.18 (25 February 2014): 1-2.
Carnes Lord and Andrew […]

Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “King Coal Reigns: North America’s Shale Gas Boom Will Force China to Continue Relying on Coal,” China SignPost™ (洞察中国) 80 (21 February 2014).
China SignPost™ (洞察中国)–“Clear, high-impact China analysis.”©
Key Points: Unless Chinese industrial consumers use low-cost coal, they will likely not be competitive in the export market with their […]

Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “China Car Sales: New Pockets of Opportunity,” China SignPost™ (洞察中国) 79 (29 December 2013).
China SignPost™ (洞察中国)–“Clear, high-impact China analysis.”©

China’s market for new passenger cars is maturing, but the overall outlook for 
car fleet expansion remains bright for at least 5-7 more years.
Even in a pessimistic scenario, Chinese are […]

“Scholars Highlight Sino-Japanese Security Dynamics, Defense Infrastructure,” Stanford China Program News, 11 February 2014. … Two important seminar series at the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center this winter quarter—one examining the future of China under the new leadership of Xi Jinping, and a second looking at the Sino-Japanese rivalry—explore these issues in depth and […]

Andrew S. Erickson, “It Changed My (Professional) Life: The National Committee on U.S.-China Relations’ Public Intellectuals Program,” China Analysis from Original Sources 以第一手资料研究中国, 10 February 2014.
The views expressed here are solely those of the author, and do not represent the policies of any organization with which he is affiliated.
As someone well-placed to observe firsthand the tremendous […]