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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.

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 […]

28 June 2012

“Chinese Aerospace Power” & “China, The United States and 21st-Century Sea Power” Reviewed in Warship 2012’s “Naval Books of the Year”

Conrad Waters, Review of Four Naval Institute Press Books, “Naval Books of the Year,” Warship 2012: 190-91.
One notable side effect of the steady rise in the power and importance of China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has been the significant growth in the number of books devoted to its analysis. Nowhere is this trend more […]

28 June 2012

Recommended Reading: A Plain Sailorman in China

Bruce Swanson with Vance Morrison, Don H. McDowell, and Nancy Tomasko, A Plain Sailorman in China: The Life of and Times of Cdr. I.V. Gillis, USN, 1875-1948 (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2012).
Publisher’s Description:
This biography recounts the extraordinary life of I. V. Gillis, both as an officer in the U.S. Navy from 1894 to 1919 […]

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 […]