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.
Roy Kamphausen, David Lai, and Travis Tanner, eds., Learning by Doing: The PLA Trains at Home and Abroad (Carlisle, PA: Army War College Press, 2012).
A vital contribution on a tremendously important but woefully understudied subject!
Brief Synopsis
To better understand the PLA’s ability to employ its developing capabilities in a variety of potential scenarios, this year’s workshop examined how […]
Richard P. Hallion, Roger Cliff, and Phillip C. Saunders, eds., The Chinese Air Force: Evolving Concepts, Roles, and Capabilities (Washington, DC: National Defense University Press, 2012).
This path-breaking study boasts contributions from some of the foremost authorities in the field. A must-read for everyone interested in the past, present, and future of China’s air force.
Book Description:
There is […]
Feng, “What Does J-31 Tell Us About China,” Information Dissemination, 20121212.
There have been many articles written about the recent first flight of J-31. If you go to sinodefenceforum where I moderate, you can see pages and pages of analysis by amateurs like myself over what we think the roles of this aircraft is along with […]
Andrew S. Erickson and Gabriel B. Collins, “The ‘Long Pole in the Tent’: China’s Military Jet Engines,” The Diplomat, 7 December 2012.
Much has been made of Beijing’s growing military might. Developing and producing high-performance jet engines could be the toughest — but most rewarding — advance.
The PLA Navy surprised many foreign observers yet again when […]
Andrew S. Erickson and Gabriel B. Collins, “China Aircraft Carrier Style! Assessing the First Takeoff and Landing,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 27 November 2012.
Two months after China’s first aircraft carrier Liaoning was commissioned, and a year and a half after it began sea trials, an Chinese J-15 fighter became the first known fixed wing […]
Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “‘Death by Blue Water Navy’ Distracts from China’s Real Military Focus,” The Diplomat, 21 November 2012.
(Editor’s Note: Please see “China’s Real Blue Water Navy” and Greg Autry’s response.)
Greg Autry’s passionate response to our recent piece on “China’s Real Blue Water Navy” is somewhat ironic, as he has missed […]
Christopher T. Yeaw, Andrew S. Erickson, and Michael S. Chase, “The Future of Chinese Nuclear Policy and Strategy,” in Toshi Yoshihara and James Holmes, eds., Strategy in the Second Nuclear Age: Power, Ambition, and the Ultimate Weapon (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2012), 53-80.
From the introduction to the volume, pp. 10-11:
In chapter 4 Christopher Yeaw, Andrew Erickson, […]
Andrew S. Erickson and Gabriel B. Collins, “Taking Off: Implications of China’s Second Stealth Fighter Test Flight,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 3 November 2012.
China’s fighter aircraft development efforts appeared to take another leap forward after local media reported that Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC) had successfully tested its J-31 stealth fighter prototype this week. […]
Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “U.S. Navy Take Notice: China is Becoming a World-Class Military Shipbuilder,” The Diplomat, 1 November 2012.
The engine of China’s naval rise has flown under the radar – until now.
China’s military shipyards now are surpassing Western European, Japanese, and Korean military shipbuilders in terms of both the types and […]
Click here to watch a video of the presentation.
Andrew S. Erickson, “Chinese Aircraft Carrier Update,” presented in “Session 1: Developments in Aircraft Carriers,” at “Maritime Security Challenges (MSC) 2012” conference, Maritime Forces Pacific, Canadian Navy, Victoria, Canada, 2 October 2012.
For recent analysis, see Andrew S. Erickson and Gabriel B. Collins, “The Calm Before the Storm: China’s […]
Thomas J. Christensen, “The Meaning of the Nuclear Evolution: China’s Strategic Modernization and US-China Security Relations,” Journal of Strategic Studies 35.4 (August 2012): 447–87.
ABSTRACT Will China’s development of a new generation of nuclear weapons impact US-China security relations in important ways? One’s answer depends on how one views the following: whether or not Chinese leaders […]
David Chen, “Examining the New Aircraft Carrier through the PLA’s Revolution in ‘Organizational’ Affairs,” Jamestown China Brief 12.19 (5 October 2012).
With the commissioning of the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) first aircraft carrier, more clarity has been provided in terms of the organizational setup of any future PLA Navy (PLAN) carrier strike group. The details emerging […]
An essential reference for all serious observers of today’s PLA. You won’t find this incisive analysis anywhere else. A must-read!
Dennis J. Blasko, The Chinese Army Today: Tradition and Transformation for the 21st Century, 2nd ed. (New York: Routledge, 2012).
From the Publisher:
The Chinese Army Today is a comprehensive study of the Chinese military, examining its ground forces […]
Ronald O’Rourke, China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 17 October 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 […]
Andrew S. Erickson and Gabriel B. Collins, “Delicate Touch: Flight Operations Begin on China’s First Aircraft Carrier,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 17 October 2012.
Less than a month after China officially commissioned the Liaoning, its first aircraft carrier, photos appearing to show aircraft operating over the carrier have raised a host of questions, […]
Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “New Destroyer a Significant Development for Chinese Sea Power,” China Real Time Report (中国实时报), Wall Street Journal, 8 October 2012.
Now that the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has commissioned its first aircraft carrier and may be looking to assemble one or more carrier groups over time, what about the rest […]
Greg Waldron, “Must Read: Chinese Aerospace Power, Emerging Maritime Roles,” Asian Skies, Flightglobal, 5 October 2012.
For readers with a more than passing interest in Asia Pacific military affairs, Chinese Aerospace Power, Emerging Maritime Roles is the book for you. Edited by China defence experts Andrew Erickson and Lyle Goldstein, the book is a series of […]
View C-Span Video with timeline transcript here.
Click here for a webcast of entire event.
For Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter’s keynote address, go to minutes 27:45-1:04:18.
For my presentation on China’s naval and air force modernization, see minutes 1:22:50-1:33:13; 1:58:36-2:00:39.
In Strategic Asia 2012-13: China’s Military Challenge by the National Bureau of Asian Research, leading experts assessed […]
Strategic Asia 2012-13: China’s Military Challenge – Book Launch Event
The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) will hold the launch of the twelfth volume in the Strategic Asia series this Wednesday, 3 October 2012, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC.
Select contributors from Strategic Asia 2012-13: China’s […]
Chinese Undersea Warfare: Development, Capabilities, Trends
Maritime Gray Zone Operations: Challenges and Countermeasures in the Indo-Pacific
Oxford Bibliography: “The People’s Liberation Army (PLA)”
China’s Climate Cooperation Smokescreen: A Roadmap for Seeing Through the Trap and Countering with Competition
Large-Scale Amphibious Warfare in Chinese Military Strategy
Rebalancing U.S. Forces: Basing and Forward Presence in the Asia-Pacific
China’s Near Seas Combat Capabilities
Chinese Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile (ASBM) Development: Drivers, Trajectories and Strategic Implications
Asia’s Rising Energy and Resource Nationalism: Implications for the United States, China, and the Asia-Pacific Region
Chinese Aerospace Power: Evolving Maritime Roles
China’s S-Curve Trajectory: Structural Factors Will Likely Slow the Growth of China’s Economy and Comprehensive National Power
China, the United States, and 21st-Century Sea Power: Defining a Maritime Security Partnership
China Goes to Sea: Maritime Transformation in Comparative Historical Perspective
China’s Energy Strategy: The Impact on Bejing’s Maritime Policies
China’s Future Nuclear Submarine Force
Chinese Mine Warfare: A PLA Navy 'Assassin’s Mace' Capability
China’s Nuclear Force Modernization
