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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.

03 November 2010

China SignPost™ 洞察中国 #5–Gray Gold: China’s Rare Earth Power Play, Impacts, and Suggested Consumer Responses

Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “Gray Gold: China’s Rare Earth Power Play, Impacts, and Suggested Consumer Responses,” China SignPost™ (洞察中国) 5 (3 November 2010).
China SignPost™ 洞察中国–“Clear, high-impact China analysis.”©
***Note: this summary version does not contain graphics, which are available in the PDF edition.***
Tighter export quotas for rare earth elements (REEs) from China and the […]

03 November 2010

Interviewed in Al Jazeera Program on “The Asian Arms Race”

“Empire—The Asian Arms Race,” Al Jazeera English, 30 October 2010.
This is the Asia-focused segment of a larger program that Al Jazeera describes as follows:
The world has entered a new arms race at a time of relative peace, totalling $1.5 trillion, that is $217 for every person on the planet.
Over the last decade, Washington has doubled […]

03 November 2010

Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power by Robert D. Kaplan

Robert D. Kaplan, Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power (New York: Random House, 2010).
Promotional Summary from Publisher:
On the world maps common in America, the Indian Ocean all but disappears. The Western Hemisphere lies front and center, while the Indian Ocean region is relegated to the edges, split up along the maps’ […]

02 November 2010

U.S. Strategic Interests and Cooperative Activities in Maritime Southeast Asia

John Bradford, “U.S. Strategic Interests and Cooperative Activities in Maritime Southeast Asia,” in John Bradford, James Manicom, Sheldon W. Simon, and Neil A. Quartaro, Maritime Security in Southeast Asia: U.S., Japanese, Regional, and Industry Strategies, National Bureau of Asian Research Special Report #24 (Seattle, WA: NBR, November 2010), pp. 17-29.
Executive Summary

U.S. maritime strategy’s focus […]

28 October 2010

International Fellows Program Strives to Strengthen Partnerships at NWC

David Reese, “International Fellows Program Strives to Strengthen Partnerships at NWC,” Naval War College Public Affairs, 28 October 2010.
NEWPORT, R.I. – The Naval War College (NWC) has implemented an International Fellows Program which is designed to solidify relationships between the United States Navy and the navies of partner countries. The International Fellows’ job is to assist […]

21 October 2010

Understanding Asia-Pacific Sea Power

James Holmes and Toshi Yoshihara, “Understanding Asia-Pacific Sea Power,” The Diplomat, 21 October 2010.
It’s a sobering thought that even analysts steeped in naval affairs disagree about how to tally up who exactly has the strongest fleet. Writing in the Washington Post last month, Robert Kaplan declared in passing that China had constructed ‘the world’s second-largest […]

15 October 2010

The Geopolitics of the Myanmar-China Oil and Gas Pipelines

Bo Kong, “The Geopolitics of the Myanmar-China Oil and Gas Pipelines,” Chapter 5 in Edward Chow, Leigh E. Hendrix, Mikkal E. Herberg, Shoichi Itoh, Bo Kong, Marie Lall and Paul Stevens, eds., Pipeline Politics in Asia: The Intersection of Demand, Energy Markets, and Supply Routes, NBR Special Report 23 (Seattle, WA: National Bureau of Asian […]

12 October 2010

China SignPost™ 洞察中国 #4–Be Careful What You Wish For: Further Appreciation of China’s Currency Would Deliver Positive and Negative Results for US

Gabriel B. Collins and Andrew S. Erickson, “Be Careful What You Wish For: Further Appreciation of China’s Currency Would Deliver Positive and Negative Results for U.S.,” China Signpost™(洞察中国) 4 (12 October 2010).
China Signpost™ 洞察中国–“Clear, high-impact China analysis.”©
On 29 September 2010, the US House of Representatives passed the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act by a […]

08 October 2010

Harvard Fairbank Center Lecture, Thurs. 14 Oct. 2010, 12:15 PM: “Aerospace Development: An Indicator of China’s Future Trajectory”

Andrew S. Erickson, “Aerospace Development: an Indicator of China’s Future Trajectory,” presented through Princeton-Harvard China and the World Program, Center for Government and International Studies, Harvard University, 14 October 2010.

Thursday, October 14, 2010 12:15 pm
Aerospace Development: An Indicator of China’s Future Trajectory
Dr. Andrew S. Erickson, U.S. Naval War College; China and the World Postdoctoral Fellow
China is the […]

08 October 2010

Not in Our Backyard: China’s Emerging Anti-Access Strategy

Michael Chase, “Not in Our Backyard: China’s Emerging Anti-Access Strategy,” The Progressive Fix, 7 October 2010. (Part 2 of 3).
Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has enjoyed an unparalleled ability to project military power around the globe, as the world’s leading superpower.

But in recent years, potential U.S. rivals have invested […]

07 October 2010

25 September Chinese Long-Range Missile Flight Test Reported in Washington Times

Bill Gertz, “Chinese Missile Test,” Washington Times, 6 October 2010.
“A U.S. official confirmed that China’s military fired a missile from the Taiyuan missile center, about 320 miles southwest of Beijing, to Korla, a city in western China some 1,800 miles away” on 25 September.
“China watchers in Asia and the United States were alerted to the […]

05 October 2010

Diego Garcia and the United States’ Emerging Indian Ocean Strategy

Andrew S. Erickson, Walter C. Ladwig III, and Justin D. Mikolay, “Diego Garcia and the United States’ Emerging Indian Ocean Strategy,” Asian Security 6.3 (Autumn 2010): 214-37.
An ungated full-text PDF is available here.
Click here to access the full-text PDF directly from Asian Security.
Cited in “Diego Garcia,” Wikipedia.
Abstract: As the world’s economic and strategic “center of gravity” […]

02 October 2010

International Security, Fall 2010: “China’s Search for Assured Retaliation: The Evolution of Chinese Nuclear Strategy and Force Structure”

M. Taylor Fravel and Evan S. Medeiros, “China’s Search for Assured Retaliation: The Evolution of Chinese Nuclear Strategy and Force Structure,” International Security, Vol. 35, No. 2 (Fall 2010), pp. 48-87.
M. Taylor Fravel
M. Taylor Fravel is the Cecil and Ida Green Career Development Associate Professor of Political Science and a member of the Security […]

02 October 2010

International Security, Fall 2010: “Correspondence: Debating China’s Naval Nationalism”

Michael A. Glosny and Phillip C. Saunders, Robert S. Ross, “Correspondence: Debating China’s Naval Nationalism,” International Security, Vol. 35, No. 2 (Fall 2010), pp. 161-75.
Michael A. Glosny
Michael A. Glosny is an instructor in the Department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School and was China Security Fellow at the Center for Strategic […]

29 September 2010

Presented on “Aerospace Development” & “China Goes to Sea” for Princeton-Harvard China & the World Program

Andrew S. Erickson, “Aerospace Development: an Indicator of China’s Future Trajectory” and “China Goes to Sea: Maritime Transformation in Comparative Historical Perspective,” presented through Princeton-Harvard China and the World Program at Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 29 September 2010.

CHINA GOES TO SEA: MARITIME TRANSFORMATION IN COMPARATIVE HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
On September 29, 2010, Professor Andrew Erickson gave a […]

25 September 2010

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,” Congressional Research Service, 26 August 2010.
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. Admiral Michael Mullen, the Chairman of the […]

23 September 2010

Princeton University Lecture, Wed. 29 September, 4:30 PM: “Aerospace Development: an Indicator of China’s Future Trajectory”

Lecture by Andrew Erickson: “Aerospace Development: an Indicator of China’s Future Trajectory”
4:30 pm, Wednesday, 29 September 2010
Bowl 2, Robertson Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ

Beijing’s air and space components are finally on the verge of giving the country’s leaders something they have dreamed of since before the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC): a […]

23 September 2010

China Improving ‘Area Denial’

William Lowther, “China Improving ‘Area Denial’,” Taipei Times, 24 September 2010, p. 3.
A new report by a professor at the US Naval War College says Chinese military planners “covet the ability” to prevent US and allied forces from intervening effectively in the event of a Taiwan Strait crisis.
“The PLA [People’s Liberation Army] is improving rapidly […]

21 September 2010

‘Tipping’ the Future Fleet

Capt. George Galdorisi, U.S. Navy (Retired), Antonio Siordia, and Scott C. Truver, “‘Tipping’ the Future Fleet,” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, Vol. 136, No. 10 (October 2010).
The course ahead for the Navy of the mid-21st century is still uncharted. The strategic alternative it chooses now will chart that course, for better or worse.
In late 2009 Chief […]