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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.

27 June 2012

Kindle Editions of 4 CMSI Volumes Now Available; 5th to Follow

Andrew S. Erickson and Lyle J. Goldstein, eds., Chinese Aerospace Power: Evolving Maritime Roles (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2011).
Andrew S. Erickson, Lyle J. Goldstein, and Nan Li, eds., China, the United States, and 21st Century Sea Power: Defining a Maritime Security Partnership (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2010).
Andrew S. Erickson, Lyle J. Goldstein, and Carnes Lord, eds., China Goes to Sea: […]

19 June 2012

Chinese Crew Works in Tiangong after 1st Manned Shenzhou Docking

Craig Covault, “Chinese Crew Works in Tiangong after 1st Manned Shenzhou Docking,” AmericaSpace, 19 June 2012.
The three Chinese Shenzhou 9 astronauts are transferring  about 660 lb. of supplies , about 60 “man-days” worth,  to the Tiangong (TG-1) outpost for use during their nearly two week stay. Part of that cargo will also help support the […]

18 June 2012

China’s Rendezvous in Space

Evan Osnos, “China’s Rendezvous in Space,” Letter from China, The New Yorker, 18 June 2012.
Chinese astronauts, back in space for the first time in four years, have achieved China’s first manned docking with a space lab in orbit, a coupling infused with such emotion and expectation that it sounded, from the language on television, positively […]

16 June 2012

Making History in the Heavens: Liu Yang Becomes 1st Female Chinese Astronaut in Orbit as 3-Person Shenzhou-9 Mission Heads for Docking with Tiangong-1 Space Laboratory Module

An inspiring achievement!
People’s Liberation Army (PLA) pilot Liu Yang, with colleagues Jing Haipeng and Liu Wang, was launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 10:37:24 UTC on 16 June 2012 by a Long March 2F “carrier rocket” on the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft, which will dock with China’s Tiangong-1 (天宫一号) space laboratory module. The module will […]

16 June 2012

David Axe, Wired.com Danger Room–“Video: Secret Space Plane Shatters Orbital Record as Chinese Rival Looms”

David Axe, “Video: Secret Space Plane Shatters Orbital Record as Chinese Rival Looms,” Danger Room, Wired.com, 16 June 2012.
The second copy of the Air Force’s X-37B robotic space plane landed at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California early Saturday morning, ending a record-breaking 469-day orbital mission that began atop an Atlas rocket launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, […]

15 June 2012

Galrahn Discusses Recent Posts from Information Dissemination’s 5th Anniversary “Virtual Conference: Celebrating Seapower Online”

Galrahn offers feedback and discussion after the four presenters each week have had their pieces posted. Today’s post marks the conclusion of the second week, and we can look forward to two more weeks. It’s a real treat to have an entire June’s worth of thought and discussion on seapower.
Click here for more information on […]

14 June 2012

Are China’s Near Seas “Anti-Navy” Capabilities Aimed Directly at the United States?

Andrew S. Erickson, “Are China’s Near Seas ‘Anti-Navy’ Capabilities Aimed Directly at the United States?” Information Dissemination, 14 June 2012.
Yes, but it’s more complicated than that. In the military realm, Washington and Beijing face a situation that is complex both in concept and in policy implications. In contrast to its mostly-settled land borders, China’s island […]

13 June 2012

James Fallows Quotes China SignPost™ (洞察中国) #47 Aeroengine Study in His New Book “China Airborne”

James Fallows, China Airborne (New York: Pantheon Books, 2012).
Click here for Fallows’s Wikipedia page.
Aeroengine details on pp. 166-67:
The requirements for military and civilian jet engines are somewhat different, but if anything, China’s engine development for airliners lags behind what its military is trying to do. In September, 2011, Gabe Collins and Andrew Erickson of China SignPost […]

13 June 2012

The Shi Lang, A Vehicle for Regional Change?

Henry Philippens, “The Shi Lang, A Vehicle for Regional Change?” Defense & Security Analysis, 28.2 (2012): 176-84.
In a succession of disclosures over the summer of 2011, the People’s Republic of China acknowledged the near completion of its first aircraft carrier and the initiation of a carrier building program. These revelations have come at a time […]

13 June 2012

PRC Area-Denial Capabilities and American Power Projection, Part 2

Taylor Marvin, “PRC Area-Denial Capabilities and American Power Projection, Part 2,” Prospect Blog, 12 June 2012.
Anti-access/area-denial capabilities are the core strategic challenge facing the United States. Proliferating weapons technologies have democratized lethal force, giving unsophisticated opponents the ability to deny superior opponents the ability to project power. The Pentagon’s challenge is to overcome anti-access/area-denial systems […]

13 June 2012

PRC Area-Denial Capabilities and American Power Projection, Part 1

Taylor Marvin, “PRC Area-Denial Capabilities and American Power Projection, Part 1,” Prospect Blog, 8 June 2012.
China’s development of powerful asymmetric capabilities is the greatest challenge to US power projection since the Second World War. Continued advances in anti-access/area-denial weapons and strategies are likely to shift the most important determinant of military victory from force superiority […]

11 June 2012

Microsatellites: A Bellwether of Chinese Aerospace Progress?

Andrew S. Erickson, “Microsatellites: A Bellwether of Chinese Aerospace Progress?” in Lisa Parks and James Schwoch, eds., Down to Earth: Satellite Technologies, Industries, and Cultures (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2012), 254-79.
Central to China’s rise in space–no less important than its becoming the third nation to test an anti-satellite weapon (on January 11, 2007) […]

07 June 2012

Like it or Not: State Oil Company Becomes ‘Flag’ in South China Sea

Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “Like it or Not: State Oil Company Becomes ‘Flag’ in South China Sea,” China Real Time Report (中国事实报), Wall Street Journal, 7 June 2012.
Update: “Long Tao” is apparently a pseudonym, most likely for Dai Xu. Dai is a People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) colonel (not a senior colonel) […]

04 June 2012

Joan Johnson-Freese: Space Code Key to Protecting U.S. Space Interests

Joan Johnson-Freese, “Space Code Key to Protecting U.S. Space Interests,” World Politics Review, 4 June 2012.
… As far back as 1998, I wrote a book titled, “The Chinese Space Program: A Mystery Within a Maze.” The title referred to the difficulty in deciphering the intentions of a dual-use technology program shrouded in opaque decision-making processes […]

04 June 2012

How Will New Submarine Sensors and Payloads Influence Naval Warfare in the 21st Century?

Another great primer by Owen Coté on the latest trends in undersea warfare and the physics behind them.
Owen R. Cote Jr., MIT Security Studies Program, “How Will New Submarine Sensors and Payloads Influence Naval Warfare in the 21st Century?” Information Dissemination, 4 June 2012.
Since the beginning of the 20st century, a series of new submarine […]

04 June 2012

Information Dissemination Marks 5th Anniversary with “Virtual Conference: Celebrating Seapower Online”

Information Dissemination Marks 5th Anniversary with “Virtual Conference: Celebrating Seapower Online”
…To celebrate five years of online discussion related to Maritime Strategy and Strategic Communications, for the month of June Information Dissemination will be hosting a Virtual Conference sponsored by the United States Naval Institute. Sixteen leading voices in the maritime discussion with careers in the […]

04 June 2012

Gabe Collins: 12 Things Missing from China Report

Gabe Collins offers his personal perspective concerning the latest annual Pentagon report on China’s military.
Gabe Collins, “12 Things Missing from China Report,” The Diplomat, 1 June 2012.
The latest version of the Pentagon’s report on China’s military rise was disappointing. There’s plenty that has been missed out.
The progressive neutering of the annual Pentagon China military power […]

25 May 2012

More Signs of an S-Curved Trajectory?

Keith Bradsher, “After Barreling Ahead in Recession, China Finally Slows,” New York Times, 24 May 2012.
XI’AN, China — A nationwide real estate downturn, stalling exports and declining consumer confidence have produced what a Chinese cabinet adviser, quoted on the official government Web site on Thursday, characterized as a “sharp slowdown in the economy.”
Though the Chinese […]

24 May 2012

5 Things the Pentagon Isn’t Telling Us About the Chinese Military

Trefor Moss, “5 Things the Pentagon Isn’t Telling Us About the Chinese Military,” Foreign Policy, 23 May 2012.
In its annual appraisal of the Chinese military published last week, the U.S. Department of Defense seems to be describing an object it finds both familiar and mysterious. The report certainly answers many of the important issues concerning China’s […]