Andrew S. Erickson

Yves-Heng Lim, “The Driving Forces behind China’s Naval Modernization,” Comparative Strategy, 30:2 (2011): 105-20.
The rapid development of Chinese naval forces over the last decade has provoked much debate over where this modernization is headed. Observing the decennial evolution of Chinese naval forces, this article questions assumptions that China’s naval modernization can be mainly explained by […]

Al Wood, “Tanker Ownership in Non-OECD Countries and the Rise of Government-Owned Fleets,” Institute for International Economic Policy Working Paper Series, Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University, August 2011.       
Abstract: This paper provides an historical perspective of the global oil-tanker market, the international tanker fleet, and the major trends in tanker ownership. The […]

Sarah Raine, “Beijing’s South China Sea Debate,” Survival, 53:5 (2011): 69-88.
The three million square kilometres of the South China Sea are of particular strategic importance. Sovereignty over a plethora of small islands, atolls, rocks and coral reefs, including the two main island groupings of the Spratlys and the Paracels, is contested through overlapping claims by […]

Sam Bateman, “Perils of the Deep: The Dangers of Submarine Proliferation in the Seas of East Asia,” Asian Security, 7.1 (2011).
Greater numbers of submarines are being acquired in the Asia-Pacific. This development poses challenges in the region for preventive diplomacy, maritime confidence building, and ensuring the safety of submarine operations. However, countries are extremely sensitive […]

Guy C.K. Leung, “China’s Energy Security: Perception and Reality,” Energy Policy, 39.3 (March 2011): 1330-37.
Abstract
China, now the world’s second-largest economy, is worried about energy security, which underpins the core objectives of Beijing and the political legitimacy of the Communist Party of China. The purpose of this study is to explore certain popular myths about China’s energy […]

Rory Medcalf and Raoul Heinrichs with Justin Jones, Crisis and Confidence: Major Powers and Maritime Security in Indo-Pacific Asia (Sydney: Lowy Institute for International Policy, June 2011).
The sea lanes of Indo-Pacific Asia are becoming more crowded, contested and vulnerable to armed strife. Naval and air forces are being strengthened amid shifting balances of economic and […]

P. K. Gautam, “Mapping Chinese Oil and Gas Pipelines and Sea Routes,” Strategic Analysis, 35:4 (2011): 595-612.
Abstract: China is pursuing an energy policy to alleviate its import dependence, diversify the sources and routes of imported oil and prepare for supply disruption. China’s import of hydrocarbons is growing rapidly. Besides sea transport from West Asia and […]

Andrew B. Kennedy, “China’s New Energy-Security Debate,” Survival 52:3 (2010): 137-58.
Over the past ten years, China’s soaring demand for energy has complicated its foreign relations on many fronts. China’s growing oil imports have sparked criticism that this demand puts upward pressure on world oil prices. Investments by China’s national oil companies have vexed governments trying […]

Aki Nakai, “China’s Naval Modernization: Reflections on a Symposium,” Boston University Center for the Study of Asia, Occasional Paper on Asia 1 (February 2011).
The “rise of China” is on everyone’s lips these days, with the conversation being driven both by China’s rapid economic development and its military modernization. On November 9, 2010, the Boston University […]

Nathaniel Barber, Kieran Coe, Victoria Steffes, and Jennifer Winter, China in the Indian Ocean: Impacts, Prospects, Opportunities, Prepared for U.S. government’s Office of South Asia Policy (Madison, WI: Robert M. LaFollette School of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2011).
Mainland China has increased its activities in the Indian Ocean region by investing in local states, building […]

Toshi Yoshihara & James R. Holmes, “Can China Defend a ‘Core Interest’ in the South China Sea?” The Washington Quarterly 34.2 (2011): 45-59.
Déjà vu surrounds reports that Beijing has claimed a ‘‘core interest’’ in the South China Sea. High-ranking Chinese officials reportedly asserted such an interest during a private March 2010 meeting with two visiting […]

Avery Goldstein, “Crisis Instability and US-China Relations: The Present (If Not Clear) Danger,” paper presented at American Political Science Association 2011 Annual Meeting.
Two concerns have driven much of the debate about international security in the post Cold War era. The principal concern has been the potentially deadly mix of nuclear proliferation, rogue states, and international […]

Andrew B. Kennedy, “China’s Petroleum Predicament: Challenges and Opportunities in Beijing’s Search for Energy Security,” in Jane Golley and Ligang Song, eds., Rising China: Global Challenges and Opportunities (Canberra and Beijing: Australian National University and Social Sciences Academic Press, 2011), 121-136.
If China’s rise is one of the most important stories of this new century, China’s […]

Jeff Franks, “Chinese Navy Hospital Ship Visits Cuba, Caribbean,” Reuters, 22 October 2011.
HAVANA (Reuters) – A Chinese navy hospital ship called the Peace Ark sailed on Friday into Havana Bay in Cuba, reflecting good relations between the communist allies and China’s expanding global presence.
The 580-foot (178 meters) ship was met by Cuban naval officials in […]

Bert Chapman, Geopolitics: A Guide to the Issues (Contemporary Military, Strategic, and Security Issues) (New York: Praeger, 2011).
“Current Geopolitical Scholars”
“A number of scholars representing classical and critical geopolitical perspectives are influencing this discipline’s research and analysis while representing disciplinary fields such as geography, history, international economics, military science, and political science.”
Scholars profiled include Thomas P.M. […]

Adam Segal, Advantage: How American Innovation Can Overcome the Asian Challenge (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2011).
As the United States struggles to emerge from recession, India and China’s continued robust growth is the subject of much interest and concern. In his new book, Advantage: How American Innovation Can Overcome the Asian Challenge, Council […]

Brantly Womack, ed., China’s Rise in Historical Perspective (Rowman & Littlefield, 2010).
“Stimulating and elegant. This unique book purposefully blends insightful historical analyses and strong present-day commentaries, placing core elements of the phenomenon of contemporary China into very meaningful contexts. This welcome and long-overdue approach will assist a broad readership that seeks to understand both where […]

Bhumitra Chakma, The Politics of Nuclear Weapons in South Asia (London: Ashgate, 2011).
An important and critical re-evaluation of South Asia’s post-tests nuclear politics, in contrast to other books, this volume emphasises the political dimension of South Asia’s nuclear weapons, explains how the bombs are used as politico-strategic assets rather than pure battlefield weapons and how […]

Michael E. O’Hanlon, A Skeptic’s Case for Nuclear Disarmament (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2010).
In 2007 two former U.S. secretaries of state, a defense secretary, and a former senator wrote persuasively in the Wall Street Journal that the time had come to move seriously toward a nuclear-free world. Almost two years later, the Global Zero […]