Andrew S. Erickson

Cutting-edge cutters! Revealing commentary on the PRC’s fast-growing “Second Navy” by Professor Martinson. Bonus: Scroll down for a curated “Bookshelf” compilation of his world-class work! I guarantee you’ll find something you *didn’t yet know* you needed to know…
Ryan Martinson, “The Voyage of the Meishan and Xiushan: China’s Template for a Blue-Water Coast Guard,” War on […]

Nuclear Challenges: The Growing Capabilities of Strategic Competitors and Regional Rivals (Washington, DC: Defense Intelligence Agency, 23 October 2024).
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CHINA-FOCUSED CONTENT:
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China
China is undergoing the most rapid expansion and ambitious modernization of its nuclear forces in history—almost certainly driven by an aim for enduring strategic competition with the U.S. and […]

Ryan D. Martinson, “China’s Summer of 2024: The Missing Chapter,” CMSI Note 10 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 16 October 2024).

From CMSI Director Christopher Sharman:
The summer of 2024 saw more People’s Republic of China (PRC) activity in the Arctic and near-Arctic than any year in the past.
Most of the People’s Liberation […]

This landmark history is an instant classic!
Ian Easton, Invasion Plans: Operation Causeway and Taiwan’s Defense in World War II, China Maritime Report 42 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, October 2024).

From CMSI Director Christopher Sharman:
China Maritime Report (CMR) #42, “Invasion Plans” is about Operation CAUSEWAY, the American plan to invade Taiwan during World […]

Blurbs
“Leading international relations scholars Brian Fong and Ja Ian Chong have edited a scholarly tour de force surveying one of the most important, enduring academic and policy issues. They and their well-chosen contributors elucidate today’s latest resurgence of great power competition around the world and in frontier domains. Read now, keep ready for reference!”
— Andrew […]

Zhang Yilong, “U.S.-Philippine Military Cooperation in the South China Sea: Challenges and Responses,” CMSI Translation 8 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 7 October 2024).

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From CMSI Director CAPT Christopher H. Sharman, USN (Ret.):
Pulled from the August 2023 issue of Naval & Merchant Ships, this CMSI translation provides unique insights into tactics to […]

Andrew S. Erickson, “Tracking China’s ‘Little Blue Men’—A Comprehensive Maritime Militia Compendium,” China Analysis from Original Sources 以第一手资料研究中国, 5 October 2024.

American and Allied knowledge of the PRC’s Third Sea Force has come a long way since my outstanding Naval War College colleague Professor Conor Kennedy and I began our focused research following his arrival in Newport […]

Yesterday, as a new fiscal year began, the China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) marked twenty years since its establishment within the Naval War College (NWC) in Newport, Rhode Island.
I was honored to help initiate, and be a part of, the original ‘China Maritime Studies Group’ that approached NWC’s Provost in fall 2004 with the idea […]

As we steam through 2024, China under Xi is steaming full speed ahead, particularly at sea. Navigate today’s troubled Indo-Pacific waters by consulting the latest version of Modern Chinese Maritime Forces—just released! This most recent iteration of the second edition includes sections for PLA Army (pp. 63–75) and PLA Air Force (pp. 76–78) watercraft; the […]

Brad Dress, “Navy Pushes to Catch up to China’s Superiority at Sea,” The Hill, 30 September 2024.

… … … China is likely prepar[ing] for what could be one of the more likely scenarios playing out in a Taiwan event: a Chinese blockade….
Andrew Erickson, a professor of strategy at the U.S. Naval War College’s China Maritime […]

Chi Guocang, “Guarantee of Strategic Security: Expert Discusses China’s Strategic Nuclear Submarines Achieving Continuous Duty,” CMSI Translation 7 (Newport, RI: Naval War College China Maritime Studies Institute, 30 September 2024).

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From CMSI Director CAPT Christopher H. Sharman, USN (Ret.):
This translation is rich! A must-read for anyone interested in China’s submarine operations – […]

Recently-retired Naval War College Press Director Dr. Carnes Lord and I are proud to publish with the Naval Institute a new paperback edition of our volume on on military basing and operations in the world’s most vital yet vulnerable region! I just re-read the book and am happy with how it lands today and looking […]

China Adds Hundreds of Satellites for Use in War; Russia Building Nuke to Destroy Enemies’ Assets
Russian space nuke could damage all nations’ satellites, Space Force warns
By Bill Gertz – The Washington Times – Tuesday, September 17, 2024

China’s military is rapidly building up space capabilities, including more than 970 recently deployed satellites that would support attacks on U.S. aircraft carriers, expeditionary forces […]

Apply now to become the next Dean, Center for Naval Warfare Studies (CNWS) at the Naval War College (NWC) in Newport, Rhode Island—the Navy’s “Home of Thought”! The next individual in this intellectually pivotal position will provide thought leadership and management for a dynamic team of scholars, analysts, international and military operational law experts, cyber specialists, war gamers, […]

Today at the Naval War College, the Chief of Naval Operations rightly directed what we must focus on. Admiral Lisa Franchetti unveiled the Navigation Plan for America’s Warfighting Navy (NAVPLAN2024). We have 834 days until 1 January 2027 and each of us has a vital role in executing this plan.
Here in Newport, the China Maritime […]

This vital authoritative report shows just how dramatically and systematically China has built up its space and counterspace assets, and just how aggressively Russia has developed and postured its own. Of fundamental concern are the sheer number of satellites China now has in orbit, particularly for ISR, as part of its systematically building out a […]

Andrew S. Erickson, “Taiwan: The Stakes,” Keynote Address at Defense Innovation Days; organized by SENEDIA, The Alliance for Defense Tech, Talent, and Innovation; Newport, Rhode Island, 28 August 2024.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE KEYNOTE ADDRESS.

SENEDIA Defense Innovation Days 2024 Keynote Address – Foreign Challenges by Dr. Andrew Erickson, Naval War College, China Maritime Studies Institute […]

Big news! Dr. Peter Alan Dutton, J.D., has just joined Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center as a Senior Research Scholar in Law and a Senior Fellow. This follows twenty-three years of superlative leadership, scholarship, teaching, and other academic and policy contributions at the U.S. Naval War College. His new bio is appended immediately […]

Space Threat Fact Sheet (Washington, DC: Headquarters Space Force Intelligence, 29 April 2024). 
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SPACE THREAT FACT SHEET
HEADQUARTERS SPACE FORCE INTELLIGENCE
The access to and use of space is of vital national interest. Intensifying strategic competition presents a serious threat to U.S. national security interests in, from, and to space. China and […]