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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.

15 September 2012

“Strategic Asia 2012-13: China’s Military Challenge” Available for Pre-Order: e-version out 25 Sept., paperback release 3 Oct.

Ashley J. Tellis and Travis Tanner, eds., Strategic Asia 2012-13: China’s Military Challenge (Seattle, WA: National Bureau of Asian Research, 2012).
Electronic version available on September 25, 2012
Paperback Release: October 3, 2012
Paperback edition now available for pre-order
ISBN: 978-0-9818904-3-2
Paperback: $34.95
Pre-Order Now
The Strategic Asia annual edited volume incorporates assessments of economic, political, and military trends and focuses on […]

15 September 2012

The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate

Robert D. Kaplan, The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate (New York: Random House, 2012).
From the Publisher: In this provocative, startling book, Robert D. Kaplan, the bestselling author of Monsoon and Balkan Ghosts, offers a revelatory new prism through which to view global upheavals and […]

15 September 2012

Abraham Denmark Interviews Robert Kaplan on His New Book “The Revenge of Geography”

Abraham Denmark, “The Revenge of Geography and the Asia-Pacific: An Interview with Robert Kaplan,” Policy Q&A, National Bureau of Asian Research, 12 September 2012.
In his new book, The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate, Robert Kaplan (Stratfor Global Intelligence) contends that current global conflicts, including wars, political […]

15 September 2012

New Ships Give China’s Navy a Stronger Punch

Michael Richardson, “New Ships Give China’s Navy a Stronger Punch,” The Japan Times, 12 September 2012.
Michael Richardson is a visiting senior research fellow at the Institute of South East Asian Studies in Singapore.
SINGAPORE — In the latest step in its naval modernization and expansion, China recently announced that it is accelerating serial production of an […]

10 September 2012

Building an Active, Layered Defense: Chinese Naval and Air Force Advancement—An Interview with Andrew S. Erickson

Greg Chaffin, “Building an Active, Layered Defense: Chinese Naval and Air Force Advancement—An Interview with Andrew S. Erickson,” Policy Q&A, National Bureau of Asian Research, 10 September 2012.
As China re-emerges as a global power, it has placed great emphasis on bolstering the capabilities of its naval and air forces. In recent years, this has been reflected in […]

10 September 2012

China Will Name its First Aircraft Carrier ex-Varyag “Liaoning”: PRC State Media Portal

An official state media source reports that China will name its first aircraft “Liaoning” after the province that contains Dalian Naval Shipyard, where it has been refitted. An authorized government portal site, China Internet Information Center (China.org.cn) is published under the auspices of the State Council Information Office and the China International Publishing Group (CIPG) in Beijing.
Since ~2 […]

08 September 2012

Coasting: Was the U.S. Navy Really Better in 1917?

James Holmes, “Coasting: Was the U.S. Navy Really Better in 1917?” Foreign Policy, 7 September 2012.
During a Republican presidential debate in January, GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney claimed that the U.S. Navy is now “smaller than any time since 1917.” And so it is, in raw numerical terms. The fleet stood at 245 vessels just before Congress passed the Naval Act […]

07 September 2012

Christopher Hughes reviews “China, the United States, and 21st Century Sea Power” in China Review International

Christopher R. Hughes, review of 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); in China Review International 17.4 (2010): 424-29.
… an impressive volume by Erickson, Goldstein, and Li. …the general tone of these papers is… positive, with […]

06 September 2012

Geography Rules: Why Mongolia’s China Mining Strategy is a Mistake

Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “Geography Rules: Why Mongolia’s China Mining Strategy is a Mistake,” China Real Time Report (中国事实报), Wall Street Journal, 6 September 2012.
In May 2012, the Mongolian parliament passed a law requiring parliamentary approval for foreign investors to take a stake larger than 49% in enterprises in strategic sectors such […]

05 September 2012

Deep-Water Oil Rigs as Strategic Weapons

Martin Murphy, “Deep-Water Oil Rigs as Strategic Weapons,” Murphy on Piracy, 5 September 2012.
A semi-submersible deep-water rig of the type China launched in May – the Haiyang Shiyou 981 (HYSY 981) – and which Chairman Yilin he was celebrating when he spoke about a ‘strategic weapon’, would give China access to all but the very […]

04 September 2012

China SignPost™ (洞察中国) #64: “Wyoming and Montana Could Become Major New Coal Suppliers to China and the Asian Market—If They Can Obtain Port Access”

Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “Wyoming and Montana Could Become Major New Coal Suppliers to China and the Asian Market—If They Can Obtain Port Access,” China SignPost™ (洞察中国) 64 (4 September 2012).
China SignPost™ 洞察中国–“Clear, high-impact China analysis.”©
Wyoming and Montana have the reserves and production to become significant coal suppliers to China and East Asia […]

04 September 2012

Strategic Studies Quarterly Reviews “Chinese Aerospace Power: Evolving Maritime Roles”

Capt. Paul A. Stempel, USAF, review of Andrew S. Erickson and Lyle J. Goldstein, eds., Chinese Aerospace Power: Evolving Maritime Roles (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2011); Strategic Studies Quarterly 6.3 (Fall 2012): 149-51.
Andrew Erickson and Lyle Goldstein, two prominent China scholars at the Naval War College, fill an important interdisciplinary niche with this book by bringing together […]

31 August 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 August 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 […]

31 August 2012

Strategic Asia 2012-13: China’s Military Challenge Book Launch Event

Ashley J. Tellis and Travis Tanner, eds., Strategic Asia 2012–13: China’s Military Modernization, Regional Stability, and U.S. Extended Deterrence (Seattle, WA: National Bureau for Asian Research, 2012).
On Wednesday, October 3, 2012, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars for the National Bureau of Asian Research will launch of […]

31 August 2012

Cultivating Tomorrow’s Asia Hands

This spot-on analysis by the influential Eric Sayers is a must-read for policy makers and aspiring Asia hands alike!
Eric Sayers, “Cultivating Tomorrow’s Asia Hands,” PacNet 54A, 30 August 2012.
Discussions about the US “rebalancing” to the Asia-Pacific region have focused on the rhetoric and resources surrounding the effort. But after more than a decade of America’s […]

29 August 2012

China’s Real Blue Water Navy

Andrew S. Erickson and Gabriel B. Collins, “China’s Real Blue Water Navy,” The Diplomat, 30 August 2012.
China’s navy is not poised to speed across the Pacific to threaten America the way the Soviet Union once did, if not worse. This despite Peter Navarro and Greg Autry’s over-the-top polemic, Death by China: Confronting the Dragon—A Global […]

29 August 2012

China and the Emerging Strategic Competition in Aerospace Power

Mark Stokes and Ian Easton, “China and the Emerging Strategic Competition in Aerospace Power,” in Henry D. Sokolski, ed., The Next Arms Race (Carlisle, PA: Army War College Strategic Studies Institute, 2012), 141-75.
Competition is emerging over efforts to secure ac­cess to and control of the air and space mediums in the Asia-Pacific region. This competition […]

29 August 2012

Thomas Mahnken’s Conclusion to “Competitive Strategies for the 21st Century: Theory, History, and Practice”

Thomas G. Mahnken, “Conclusion,” in Thomas Mahnken, ed., Competitive Strategies for the 21st Century: Theory, History, and Practice (Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 2012), 301-05.
Click here for additional information on this edited volume.
This volume has sought to stimulate interest in formulating and implementing long-term strategies for defending U.S. interests in the face of growing Chinese military power. Its […]

29 August 2012

China’s Strategic Forces in the 21st Century: The People’s Liberation Army’s Changing Nuclear Doctrine and Force Posture

Michael Mazza and Dan Blumenthal, “China’s Strategic Forces in the 21st Century: The People’s Liberation Army’s Changing Nuclear Doctrine and Force Posture,” in Henry D. Sokolski, ed., The Next Arms Race (Carlisle, PA: Army War College Strategic Studies Institute, 2012), 83-109.
When it comes to its development and deployment of nuclear weapons—China first tested a weapon […]