Andrew S. Erickson

Marten Lindberg, “China: Icebreaking in the Arctic,” ISN Blog, 4 May 2012.
When we think of Chinese foreign policy most of us picture foreign direct investment in Africa and assertiveness in the Near Seas (Yellow, East China and South China). Few of us think ice breakers. China’s application to join the Arctic Council as permanent observer […]

Andrew S. Erickson and Gabriel B. Collins, “Shenlong ‘Divine Dragon’ Takes Flight: Is China Developing its First Spaceplane?” China SignPost™ (洞察中国) 58 (4 May 2012).
China SignPost™ 洞察中国–“Clear, high-impact China analysis.”©
The age of the spaceplane upon us, and it is trans-Pacific, with the U.S. and China the only current active participants. Winged spaceplanes operate as spacecraft […]

Dr. Phillip C. Saunders, Director, Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs, Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University; Testimony before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, “Hearing: Developments in China’s Cyber and Nuclear Capabilities,” Manassas, VA, 26 March 2012.
http://www.uscc.gov/hearings/2012hearings/written_testimonies/12_3_26/saunders.pdf
http://www.uscc.gov/hearings/2012hearings/written_testimonies/hr12_03_26.php
… Although Chinese nuclear doctrine, force structure, and training appear broadly consistent with […]

Mark A. Stokes with Dean Cheng, China’s Evolving Space Capabilities: Implications for U.S. Interests (Arlington, VA: Project 2049 Institute, 26 April 2012).
 http://www.uscc.gov/RFP/2012/USCC_China-Space-Program-Report_April-2012.pdf
The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission was created by Congress to report on the national security implications of the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the United States and the People’s Republic of […]

“Author Spotlight: Andrew Erickson,” Meet The Diplomat Writers, The Diplomat, 27 April 2012.
The U.S. Naval War College’s Andrew Erickson speaks with The Diplomat about China’s missile advances, the J-20 stealth fighter and what China’s military rise means for the region.
1. Why write this book? Why is it worth reading now?
Chinese Aerospace Power, and the conference […]

Ruchir Sharma, “China Slows Down, and Grows Up,” New York Times, 25 April 2012.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/26/opinion/china-slows-down-and-grows-up.html
MORE than half of Americans think China is already the world’s leading economy — an astonishing misperception, given that China’s gross domestic product is still less than half of America’s. As George Orwell once observed, “Whoever is winning at the moment will […]

John Reed, “How Effective Will China’s Carrier-Based Fighters Be?” DefenseTech, 25 April 2012.
Today, we’re bringing you excerpt from an analysis of what the J-15 will mean for China’s neighbors written last summer by DT’s go to China guru Andrew Erickson.
Basically, the J-15… will be a useful tool for China to project power in its neighborhood […]

Andrew S. Erickson, “The Future is Now,” The Diplomat, 24 April 2012.
The U.S. military has lots of options to stop the PLA from paralyzing its forces. But business as usual won’t do.
The U.S. isn’t “returning” to the Asia-Pacific, it never left in the first place. Here, in the world’s most strategically and economically dynamic region, China […]

Capt. Gary J. Sampson, USMC, “American Perceptions of China’s Anti-Access and Area-Denial Capabilities: Implications for U.S. Military Operations in the Western Pacific,” M.A. Thesis, National Sun Yat-sen University, June 2011.
The post-Cold War world has created a number of important new challenges to the United States’ power projection capabilities. The worldwide network of bases and stations […]

Wise words from one of America’s foremost maritime leaders. Senate ratification of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is long overdue!
Adm. Bob Papp, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, “Benefits of Joining the Law of the Sea Convention,” The Hill, 19 April 2012.
My fictional hero, Capt. Jack Aubrey, of Patrick O’Brian’s “Master and Commander” series […]

“Photo Essay: The U.S. Pivot and China Relations,” The Diplomat, 20 April 2012.
Last week, The Diplomat co-hosted with Harvard University a panel of leading analysts on U.S.-China relations. Following are some of the highlights from the discussion.
Speaking at the event were U.S. Congressman J. Randy Forbes, who is chairman of the House Armed Services Readiness […]

Mandatory reading for all concerned observers of Sino-American relations!
Kenneth Lieberthal and Wang Jisi, Addressing U.S.-China Strategic Distrust, John L. Thornton China Center Monograph 4 (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, March 2012).
The coauthors of this path-breaking study—one of America’s leading China specialists and one of China’s leading America specialists—lay out both the underlying concerns each leadership harbors […]

Wendell Minnick, “China’s 10 Killer Weapons: Comprehensive Strategy Targets U.S. Presence in Asia-Pacific,” Defense News, 9 April 2012.
China is developing 10 killer applications designed to degrade, depress and destroy any U.S. military campaign or mission in the greater China region, including the South China Sea and Taiwan, according to experts here and in Washington.
These 10 […]

Lyle Goldstein, “Chinese Naval Strategy in the South China Sea: An Abundance of Noise and Smoke, but Little Fire,” Journal of Contemporary Southeast Asia 33.3 (2011): 320-47.
This survey of official and quasi-official Chinese-language naval literature provides some new insights regarding Beijing’s evolving strategy in the South China Sea. Most importantly — and contrary to conventional […]

John F. Bradford, “The Maritime Strategy of the United States: Implications for Indo-Pacific Sea Lanes,” Journal of Contemporary Southeast Asia 33.2 (2011): 183–208.
The maintenance of safe and secure sea lanes, particularly those that link the United States with its partners in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, is at the very core of US interests. Therefore, […]

“China, Seeking a Voice in Arctic Affairs, Says it Has Swedish Support for Arctic Council Role,” Washington Post, 16 April 2012.
China has the support of Sweden to become a permanent observer at the eight-member Arctic Council, part of Beijing’s plan to seek a more active role in the region, a deputy Chinese foreign minister said […]

“China [Economy],” Ups and Downs, Monocle 52.6 (April 2012): 54.
For years economists have argued over whether China’s economy is headed for a soft or a hard landing. With Chinese officials themselves reportedly admitting that GDP figures are “manmade,” everything from sky-rocketing Lamborghini sales to tens of millions of empty luxury apartments has been called up […]

On 16 April 2012, Zheng He left Dalian on the first single-ship global circumnavigation by a Chinese training vessel. This latest “first” for China’s Navy is part of a larger pattern in which it has projected power increasingly beyond the “Near Seas” (Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and South China Sea) in the form of well-publicized peacetime […]

“AMERICA’S PIVOT TO THE PACIFIC”–U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS IN 2012
Harvard University Science Center, Hall C
One Oxford St., Cambridge, MA, 02238
(617) 495-2779
(One block north of the Harvard Square T stop).
With the United States winding down wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, President Barack Obama has indicated his administration’s intention to refocus the country’s diplomatic and military efforts on the […]