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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.

21 August 2012

Steady as She Goes: Aircraft Appear Aboard China’s Varyag

Greg Waldron, “Steady as She Goes: Aircraft Appear Aboard China’s Varyag,” Asian Skies: Keeping an Eye on Asia, Flight Global, 15 August 2012.
… I’m reading a fascinating book called China Aerospace Power: Emerging Maritime Roles. It is a compilation of essays about the role of Chinese airpower in China’s oceanic frontier.  One of the writers (his name […]

21 August 2012

China SignPost™ (洞察中国) #63: “North-Central China Offers Massive Market Opportunity for Mongolian Coal Miners”

Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “North-Central China Offers Massive Market Opportunity for Mongolian Coal Miners,” China SignPost™ (洞察中国) 63 (21 August 2012).
China SignPost™ 洞察中国–“Clear, high-impact China analysis.”©
Mongolia’s massive and low-cost coal reserves are well-positioned to serve seven nearby Chinese provinces with more than one billion tonnes of annual coal demand
On 7 June 2012, Mongolian […]

20 August 2012

Assessing the Undersea Balance between the United States and China

Owen R. Coté Jr., MIT Security Studies Program, “Assessing the Undersea Balance between the United States and China,” in Thomas Mahnken, ed., Competitive Strategies for the 21st Century: Theory, History, and Practice (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2012), 184-205.
Click here for additional information on this edited volume.
This chapter will assess the undersea balance between the United States and China […]

17 August 2012

A Competitive Strategy with Chinese Characteristics? The Second Artillery’s Growing Conventional Forces and Missions

Michael S. Chase and Andrew S. Erickson, “A Competitive Strategy with Chinese Characteristics? The Second Artillery’s Growing Conventional Forces and Missions,” in Thomas Mahnken, ed., Competitive Strategies for the 21st Century: Theory, History, and Practice (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2012), 206-18.
THE TRANSFORMATION of the Second Artillery Force (SAF)—the part of the PLA responsible for most of […]

17 August 2012

China SignPost™ (洞察中国) #62: “Spaceplane Development Becomes a New Dimension of Emerging U.S.-China Space Competition”

Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “Spaceplane Development Becomes a New Dimension of Emerging U.S.-China Space Competition,” China SignPost™ (洞察中国) 62 (16 August 2012).
Deep Dive–Special In-Depth Report #4
China SignPost™ 洞察中国–“Clear, high-impact China analysis.”©
Spaceplane development is becoming the newest frontier in the emerging space development competition between the U.S. and China. Winged spaceplanes operate as […]

13 August 2012

China SignPost™ (洞察中国) #61: “Can Inland Consumption Soften Coastal Industrial Slump? China’s Weak Earthmover Sales and Poor Coal Demand Point to More Economic Turbulence, But Second and Third Tier Property Markets Show Flashes of Life”

Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “Can Inland Consumption Soften Coastal Industrial Slump? China’s Weak Earthmover Sales and Poor Coal Demand Point to More Economic Turbulence, But Second and Third Tier Property Markets Show Flashes of Life,” China SignPost™ (洞察中国) 61 (14 August 2012).
China SignPost™ 洞察中国–“Clear, high-impact China analysis.”©
With Chinese consumers holding on to […]

13 August 2012

Leading Expert Scott Truver Endorses Conclusions of CMSI’s China Maritime Study #3 on Chinese Mine Warfare

Erik Slavin, “Taiwan Gets Two Mine-Hunting Ships from U.S.,” Stars and Stripes, 9 August 2012.
… China’s inventory exceeds 50,000 naval mines and includes significant technological advances within the past 10 years, according to the 2012 annual report to Congress on China’s military power.
An article in the Spring 2012 Naval War College Review confirmed a 2009 […]

06 August 2012

External Intervention and the Politics of State Formation – China, Indonesia, and Thailand, 1893–1952

Ja Ian Chong, External Intervention and the Politics of State Formation – China, Indonesia, and Thailand, 1893–1952 (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2012).
From the Publisher: This book explores ways foreign intervention and external rivalries can affect the institutionalization of governance in weak states. When sufficiently competitive, foreign rivalries in a weak state can actually foster […]

02 August 2012

China SignPost™ (洞察中国) #60: “Downturn to ‘New Normal’? China’s Consumer Economy is Rolling Over and Sales of Chicken, Cars, and Shoes Are Taking a Hit”

Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “Downturn to ‘New Normal’? China’s Consumer Economy is Rolling Over and Sales of Chicken, Cars, and Shoes Are Taking a Hit,” China SignPost™ (洞察中国) 60 (1 August 2012).
Beijing is likely to come under more significant pressure to implement stimulus measures as key parts of the consumer economy slow. […]

27 July 2012

“Selfish Superpower” No Longer? China’s Anti-Piracy Activities and 21st-Century Global Maritime Governance

Andrew S. Erickson and Austin M. Strange, “‘Selfish Superpower’ No Longer? China’s Anti-Piracy Activities and 21st-Century Global Maritime Governance,” Harvard Asia Quarterly 14.1/2 (Spring/Summer 2012): 92–102.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A HARD COPY SCAN.

From the Editor: “Andrew Erickson and Austin Strange of the US Naval War College further the discussion of East Asian countries’ emerging roles as […]

26 July 2012

Twenty-First Century Seapower: Cooperation and Conflict at Sea

Peter Dutton, Robert Ross, and Øystein Tunsjø, eds., Twenty-First Century Seapower: Cooperation and Conflict at Sea (New York: Routledge, 2012).
Peter Dutton is Associate Professor of Strategic Studies in the China Maritime Studies Institute at the U.S. Naval War College, Rhode Island.
Robert S. Ross is Professor of Political Science at Boston College, Associate, John King Fairbank Center for […]

26 July 2012

China Defense Blog’s Recommended Read: Asian Security Article on 2nd Arty Conventional Capabilities

Coatepeque, “China Defense Blog’s Recommended Read,” China Defense Blog, 23 July 2012.
Michael S. Chase and Andrew S. Erickson, “The Conventional Missile Capabilities of China’s Second Artillery Force: Cornerstone of Deterrence and Warfighting,” Asian Security, 8.2 (Summer 2012): 115-37.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14799855.2012.686253#preview
Abstract: Since its establishment in the early 1990s, the conventional missile component of the People’s Liberation Army’s Second Artillery […]

23 July 2012

The Conventional Missile Capabilities of China’s Second Artillery Force: Cornerstone of Deterrence and Warfighting

Michael S. Chase and Andrew S. Erickson, “The Conventional Missile Capabilities of China’s Second Artillery Force: Cornerstone of Deterrence and Warfighting,” Asian Security, 8.2 (Summer 2012): 115-37.
Abstract: Since its establishment in the early 1990s, the conventional missile component of the People’s Liberation Army’s Second Artillery Force (SAF) has emerged as a centerpiece of China’s accelerating […]

23 July 2012

Richard Halloran Reviews CMSI Vol. 4–“China, the United States & 21st Century Sea Power”–in Parameters

Richard Halloran, 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 Parameters 42.1 (Spring 2012): 118-19.
Richard Halloran is former foreign correspondent in Asia and military correspondent in Washington for The New York Times.
These essays bear close […]

23 July 2012

CMSI ‘Red Book’ #9: “Not Congruent but Quite Complementary: U.S. and Chinese Approaches to Nontraditional Security”

Lyle J. Goldstein, ed., Not Congruent but Quite Complementary: U.S. and Chinese Approaches to Nontraditional Security, Naval War College China Maritime Study 9 (July 2012).
This edited volume is unique in several respects, and not only because it offers both Chinese and American perspectives side by side. First and foremost, the assembled papers offer a glimpse into the rapidly […]

16 July 2012

Mutually Assured Destruction or Dependence? U.S. and Chinese Perspectives on China’s Military Development

Andrew S. Erickson, “Mutually Assured Destruction or Dependence? U.S. and Chinese Perspectives on China’s Military Development,” in Timothy B. Weston and Lionel M. Jensen, eds., China In and Beyond the Headlines, 3rd edition (Boulder, CO: Rowman & Littlefield, 2012), 87-111.
The National Intelligence Council is the U.S. intelligence community’s center for midterm and long-term strategic projections, […]

15 July 2012

Regional Implications for China’s Newest Oil Rig

Zach Dubel, “Regional Implications For China’s Newest Oil Rig,” Stimson Center, 2 July 2012.
The May 9th launch of a new oil rig by the Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) is a fresh cause of concern among observers of the South China Sea. Some believe that China will attempt to exploit this development to independently mine […]

12 July 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, 14 June 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 […]

12 July 2012

China Awaits Fighter Export Breakthrough

Greg Waldron, “In Focus: China Awaits Fighter Export Breakthrough,” Flight Global, 3 July 2012.
The atmosphere in the Dubai air show briefing room in November 2011 was electric. Journalists occupied every seat and photographers squeezed into the back of the room. Also present were a dozen senior Pakistan air force officials, who were forced to stand […]