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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.

04 March 2013

China Channels Billy Mitchell: Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile Alters Region’s Military Geography

Andrew S. Erickson, “China Channels Billy Mitchell: Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile Alters Region’s Military Geography,” Jamestown Foundation China Brief 13.5 (4 March 2013).
Reprinted as “China Homes in on Pacific Air Supremacy,” Asia Times, 6 March 2013.
China’s DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) is no longer merely an aspiration. Beijing has successfully developed, partially tested and deployed in […]

01 March 2013

Demystifying China’s Defense Spending: Less Mysterious in the Aggregate

Adam P. Liff and Andrew S. Erickson, “Demystifying China’s Defense Spending: Less Mysterious in the Aggregate,” The China Quarterly (forthcoming).
 
Click here to download PDF of Accepted Manuscript (AM) at The China Quarterly
Authors’ Note to Readers: The PDF you have downloaded is an Accepted Manuscript (AM) version of our forthcoming article in the journal The China Quarterly. […]

01 March 2013

Killer Apps: Is China Working on a Nuclear Reactor For Aircraft Carriers?

John Reed, “Killer Apps: Is China Working on a Nuclear Reactor for Aircraft Carriers?” Foreign Policy, 25 February 2013.
China may have kicked off a research program aimed at developing nuclear reactors to power its future aircraft carriers.
A report posted on the website of the state-owned China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) on Feb. 19 stated that […]

04 February 2013

Registration Open for Fourth Summer Training Workshop on the Relationship Between National Security and Technology in China, 21 July-2 August 2013

I can’t recommend this event highly enough, and I’m voting with my feet! Hope to see you there.
Fourth Summer Training Workshop on the Relationship Between National Security and Technology in China
The Project on the Study of Innovation and Technology in China (SITC), led by IGCC Director Dr. Tai Ming Cheung, seeks to understand the approaches, challenges, […]

04 February 2013

“China and Its Military” Library Guide–A Contribution from Naval War College Librarian Alice K. Juda

Alice K. Juda, “China and Its Military,” China LibGuide, Henry E. Eccles Library (Newport, RI: Naval War College, 31 October 2012).
This China Library Guide with useful links to research sources on the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has been compiled by Reference Librarian Alice Juda, who retired at the end of 2012 after 25 years of […]

03 February 2013

Missile Defense’s Real Enemy: Math

Harry Kazianis, “Missile Defense’s Real Enemy: Math,” The Diplomat, 2 February 2012.
… There is… one thing you can’t argue against, simple math.
Case in point, take a look at a recent book chapter by Dr. Toshi Yoshihara in Chinese Aerospace Power (a really good book, China defense geeks I am talking to you — it’s a classic — […]

31 January 2013

Of Growing Naval Concern

Wolfgang Legien, Editor-in-Chief, Naval Forces; former Director of Politico-Military Affairs, Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic, “Of Growing Naval Concern,” review of Andrew S. Erickson and Lyle J. Goldstein, eds., Chinese Aerospace Power: Evolving Maritime Roles (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2011); Naval Forces: The International Forum for Maritime Power 32.7 (July 2011): 85.
When China and the role and significance of its military […]

31 January 2013

The “Malacca Dilemma”: Leading to Conflict with China or Dialogue and Cooperation?

Wolfgang Legien, Editor-in-Chief, Naval Forces; former Director of Politico-Military Affairs, Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic, “The ‘Malacca Dilemma’: Leading to Conflict with China or Dialogue and Cooperation?”; review of Gabriel B. Collins, Andrew S. Erickson, Lyle J. Goldstein, and William S. Murray, eds., China’s Energy Strategy: The Impact on Beijing’s Maritime Policies (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2008); Naval […]

28 January 2013

The Y-20: China Aviation Milestone Means New Power Projection

Andrew S. Erickson and Gabriel B. Collins, “The Y-20: China Aviation Milestone Means New Power Projection,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 28 January 2013.
Escorted by a J-15 fighter and numbered “20001,” China’s domestically-produced Y-20 transport aircraft successfully completed  its maiden flight on Jan. 26 at the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF)’s China Flight […]

24 January 2013

Robert L. Worden Reviews “Chinese Aerospace Power” in Washington Journal of Modern China

Robert L. Worden, review of  Andrew S. Erickson and Lyle J. Goldstein, eds., Chinese Aerospace Power: Evolving Maritime Roles (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2011); Washington Journal of Modern China, 10.1 (September 2011): 76-77.
Andrew Erickson and Lyle Goldstein of the U.S. Naval War College’s Strategic Research Department have teamed up for the fifth time to produce an excellent addition […]

24 January 2013

“China Goes to Sea” Reviewed by Diana Sweet in Washington Journal of Modern China

Diana Sweet, review of Andrew S. Erickson, Lyle J. Goldstein, and Carnes Lord, eds., China Goes to Sea: Maritime Transformation in Comparative Historical Perspective (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, July 2009); Washington Journal of Modern China, 10.1 (September 2011): 73-75.
China Goes to Sea is a must-read for those interested in gaining a strong foundation to understanding the Chinese […]

22 January 2013

Gray Matter for Gray Hulls: The Intellectual Software Powering the U.S. Navy’s Asia-Pacific Rebalance

Gabe Collins, “Gray Matter for Gray Hulls: The Intellectual Software Powering the U.S. Navy’s Asia-Pacific Rebalance,” Information Dissemination, 22 January 2013.
The following guest post is by Gabe Collins. Gabe Collins is the co-founder of China SignPost and a former commodity investment analyst and research fellow in the US Naval War College’s China Maritime Studies Institute.
[…]

17 January 2013

This Simple Ship Could Let the Chinese Navy Circle the Globe

David Axe, “This Simple Ship Could Let the Chinese Navy Circle the Globe,” Danger Room, Wired.com, 16 January 2013.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy now has an aircraft carrier, new jet fighters to fly off the flattop and even new submarines and guided-missile destroyers able to protect the refurbished Soviet carrier. And with the successful first […]

12 January 2013

Chinese Statesmen and the Use of Air Power

Andrew S. Erickson, “Chinese Statesmen and the Use of Air Power,” in Robin Higham and Mark Parillo, eds., The Influence of Airpower upon History: Statesmanship, Diplomacy, and Foreign Policy since 1903 (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2013), 237-71.
The development of airpower and its influence on history has been primarily a Western narrative, with American, European, and even Russian centers. […]

07 January 2013

Limited Liftoff Looming: Y-20 Transport Prepares for 1st Test Flight

Andrew S. Erickson and Gabriel B. Collins, “Limited Liftoff Looming: Y-20 Transport Prepares for 1st Test Flight,” The Diplomat, 8 January 2013.
In 2011 and 2012, China flight-tested stealth fighter prototypes developed by Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (J-20) and Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (J-31). In 2013, Xi’an Aircraft Corporation (XAC) will look to get into the new aircraft game by […]

04 January 2013

Eye on China: 10 Key Trends to Watch in the Year of the Snake

Andrew S. Erickson and Gabriel B. Collins, “Eye on China: 10 Key Trends to Watch in the Year of the Snake,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 4 January 2013.
As 2013 dawns, following a yearof policy uncertainty and leadership transition , China looms large as a key force that will shape global economic and security events. […]

31 December 2012

Latest Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report—Ronald O’Rourke, “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 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 10 December 2012), RL33153, http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33153.pdf.
Summary
The question of how the United States should respond to China’s military modernization effort, including its naval modernization effort, has emerged as a key issue in U.S. defense planning. The question is of particular importance to […]

29 December 2012

Transatlantic Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific

Andrew S. Erickson and Austin M. Strange, “Transatlantic Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific,” in Patryk Pawlak, ed., Look East, Act East: Transatlantic Agendas in the Asia Pacific, Report 13 (Brussels: European Union Institute for Security Studies, 18 December 2012), 38–44.
Introduction
Europe and the United States stand at a critical crossroads as regards their individual positions […]

25 December 2012

China SignPost™ (洞察中国) #69–Elephant in the Room? Are mining companies on target as they look to India to help compensate for China’s lost commodity demand growth?

Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “Elephant in the Room? Are Mining Companies on Target as They Look to India to Help Compensate for China’s Lost Commodity Demand Growth?” China SignPost™ (洞察中国) 69 (23 December 2012).
China SignPost™ 洞察中国–“Clear, high-impact China analysis.”©
China’s economy continues to produce a chorus of negative news—slowing earthmover sales, weak coal […]