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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 October 2024

DIA Report Released Today—“Nuclear Challenges: The Growing Capabilities of Strategic Competitors & Regional Rivals”—China Content Curated Here!

Nuclear Challenges: The Growing Capabilities of Strategic Competitors and Regional Rivals (Washington, DC: Defense Intelligence Agency, 23 October 2024).
Click here to download a cached PDF.

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 […]

16 October 2024

CMSI Note 10: “China’s Summer of 2024: The Missing Chapter”

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 […]

09 October 2024

China Maritime Report #42: “Invasion Plans: Operation Causeway & Taiwan’s Defense in World War II”

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 […]

07 October 2024

Honored to Furnish Blurb for “The Routledge Handbook of Great Power Competition”!

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 […]

07 October 2024

CMSI Translation #8: “U.S.-Philippine Military Cooperation in the South China Sea: Challenges & Responses”

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 […]

05 October 2024

The China Maritime Militia Bookshelf: Latest U.S. Gov’t Docs & Guidance, Order of Battle, Official Video, Wikipedia Entries—& More!

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 […]

02 October 2024

CMSI’s 20th Anniversary! China Maritime Studies Institute Established Two Decades Ago within Naval War College

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 […]

02 October 2024

“Modern Chinese Maritime Forces” 1 October 2024 ed.—OOB for World’s Largest Navy, Coast Guard & Maritime Militia by Ship Numbers—Includes New Zhou-Class Nuclear AIP Submarine!

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 […]

02 October 2024

Quoted in Brad Dress’s Article in The Hill: “Navy Pushes to Catch up to China’s Superiority at Sea”

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 […]

30 September 2024

CMSI Translation #7: “Guarantee of Strategic Security: Expert Discusses China’s Strategic Nuclear Submarines Achieving Continuous Duty”

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 – […]

27 September 2024

Now Out in Paperback! “Rebalancing U.S. Forces: Basing and Forward Presence in the Asia-Pacific”

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 […]

26 September 2024

China Adds Hundreds of Satellites for Use in War; Russia Building Nuke to Destroy Enemies’ Assets

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 […]

19 September 2024

Lead Senior Navy School’s Research Arm through Decisive Decade of Great Power Competition—Apply Today to Become Dean, CNWS, Naval War College!

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, […]

18 September 2024

New Chief of Naval Operations Navigation Plan Rightly Prioritizes “Readiness for the Possibility of War with the People’s Republic of China by 2027”

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 […]

15 September 2024

Latest “Space Threat Fact Sheet” from Headquarters Space Force Intelligence

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 […]

15 September 2024

Honored to Give Keynote Address—“Taiwan: The Stakes”—at SENEDIA Defense Innovation Days 2024!

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 […]

14 September 2024

Dr. Peter Dutton, J.D. now Senior Research Scholar in Law & Senior Fellow at Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center

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 […]

13 September 2024

Headquarters Space Force Intelligence: “Space Threat Fact Sheet”

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 […]

11 September 2024

Essence of Distinction: The Ends, Ways, and Means of China’s Military Maritime Quest

Andrew S. Erickson, “Essence of Distinction: The Ends, Ways, and Means of China’s Military Maritime Quest,” Frontiers in Political Science, 6:1448241 (11 September 2024).
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Essence of distinction: the ends, ways, and means of China’s military maritime quest

Andrew S. Erickson1,2*

1 Naval War College, Newport, RI, United States
2 Fairbank Center for Chinese […]