Chinese Aerospace Power: Evolving Maritime Roles - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1591142415 ISBN 13: 9781591142416

Publisher: Naval Institute Press, 2012

Synopsis

China's aircraft carrier program is making major waves well before the first ship has been completed. Undoubtedly, this development heralds a new era in Chinese national security policy. While the present volume presents substantial new insight on that particular question, its focus is decidedly broader in scope. Chinese Aerospace Power offers a comprehensive survey of Chinese aerospace developments, with a focus on areas of potential strategic significance previously unexplored in Western scholarship. The book also links these developments to the vast maritime battlespace of the Asia-Pacific region and highlights the consequent implications for the U.S. military, particularly the U.S. Navy.The possibility of a future Chinese expeditionary force operating off Africa under the protective umbrella of carrier aircraft is not without consequence for the global strategic balance. However, a simpler set of aerospace systems, from microsatellites to unmanned aerial vehicles to ballistic and cruise missiles are already challenging U.S. maritime dominance in East Asia. Cumulatively, progress in all major aerospace dimensions by various elements of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) signifies a new period in which Chinese forces are now decisively altering the complexion of the military balance in the East Asian littoral.
While many articles and books have previously been written on Chinese aerospace development and many more discuss future U.S. naval strategy in the Asia-Pacific region, no other book connects the two issues, simultaneously evaluating the Chinese aerospace challenge and its implications for U.S. naval strategy.
Chinese Aerospace Power offers both broad strategic context for the lay reader and considerable insights for even the most well-informed specialists, with no fewer than five chapters devoting coverage to significant aspects of China's development of a "carrier killer" anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM).This is the fifth volume in the Naval Institute Press series "Studies in Chinese Maritime Development" published jointly by the China Maritime Studies Institute and the Naval Institute Press.

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From the Author

ADDITIONAL EVALUATIONS:"Interservice conflict invariably produces friction.... The collection does an excellent job of highlighting where the rifts lay, and describing the effect that they've had on planning and procurement. ... These essays shine a light on how China is thinking about fighting the United States, deterring US intervention in regional conflict, and shaping US behavior in the Western Pacific...."--Robert Farley, "Sunday Book Review: Chinese Aerospace Power," Information Dissemination, 11 March 2012. "the authors explore the strategic implications of Chinese forces for the US Navy and the military balance in East Asia...."--"Chinese Aerospace Power: Evolving Maritime Roles," Brief Notices, Survival 54.1 (February-March 2012): 228. "Like the others in the series, it is also rich in detail, comprehensive in approach, strong in analytical rigour and light on speculation. ... the range of sources is impressive. Nearly always primary source--many translated from Chinese--and including more unusual techniques, such as the analysis of Chinese UAV exhibitions at trade shows, it allows for an authoritative discussion...honest self-assessment is admirable....anyone who is interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the rise of China would benefit from reading it."--Captain Gordon A. Andrew, RAN, "Chinese Aerospace Power: Evolving Maritime Roles," Australian Defence Force Journal 186 (November/December 2011): 100-01."This enormously valuable and very up-to-date work... provides a very comprehensive analytical overview of the rapid development of the aerospace functions of the PLA Navy. Politicians, military officers, journalists, naval architects, ship-builders, ship-owners and even businessmen who have any connection with or concern for China would be well advised to buy and carefully study this book."--Ausmarine (November 2011): 36."offers a broad overview and appraisal of recent developments in Chinese aerospace and maritime power and examines implications for the US military, especially Chinese prowess in fielding advanced cruise missiles and China's long-range precision-strike capabilities that pose a threat to forces in the Western Pacific theater...."--"Reference & Research Book News," Book News Inc. (October 2011), 306."Andrew Erickson and Lyle Goldstein... have teamed up for the fifth time to produce an excellent addition to their series on China's maritime development. ... The book is timely ... a substantial overview of China's maritime aerospace developments, with a focus on important strategic areas, some of which are receiving notice for the first time. ...important reading for military practitioners and government and policy analysts who follow China's rise to great-power status."--Robert L. Worden, Washington Journal of Modern China, 10.1 (September 2011): 76-77."offers a comprehensive survey of Chinese aerospace developments"--Military Technology 35.9 (September 2011): 20."numerous strengths. Its greatest contribution to existing literature is that it uses a great deal of open source Chinese based literature to add credence to the authors ideas...an all-star cast of scholars...discuss one of the most timely security studies subjects of the 21st century. ... When considered as a whole or in part, this work should give US strategic planners...pause. Erickson and Goldstein have created a volume that is balanced, dense in scope but still readable and enjoyable. Combined with the assemblage of a 'who's who' in Chinese security studies, the appeal of such a work is hard to deny. This volume should serve as the textbook to any security studies student who wishes to gain a scholarly perspective on China's aerospace and military rise to power from a maritime perspective. It is a work I will keep close at hand for years to come."--Harry Kazianis, "Review: Chinese Aerospace Power, Evolving Maritime Roles," 5 Stars, e-International Relations, 6 September 2011."this volume evaluates the advances that China has made in its aerospace operations and the implications of this advancement for U.S. naval strategy."--Katherine Duke, "Chinese Aerospace Power: Evolving Maritime Roles," "Short Takes," Amherst Magazine (Fall 2011): 46."there hasn't...been a place in English that brings together all the pieces of the puzzle...until the recent publication...of Chinese Aerospace Power...offers a comprehensive overview of all the latest developments, and touches on the whole spectrum of the Chinese aerospace capabilities...The essays, from some of the most highly regarded analysts in the field, help provide a good understanding of the state of Chinese aerospace modernization...a must-read piece for every government official involved with China-related issues, military or otherwise. If knowing your interlocutor is a prerequisite for successful negotiations, the book should be a big step towards providing a balanced and necessary understanding."--Eleni Ekmektsioglou, "Understanding China," The Diplomat, 26 August 2011."In the past, I have found works by Andrew Erickson, Lyle Goldstein and the good folks at China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) to be of the highest quality and this book was no exception....does a great job of understanding China's motivations/intentions...a must read...I was pleasantly surprised by all of the new information/analysis that I found in this book regarding China's ASBM program...a much more comprehensive look than anything else I have read...very refreshing...an excellent read."--Feng, Information Dissemination, 16 August 2011."...the papers presented by this installation are of the highest quality with primary Chinese sources. They are written by the most respected authorities on the subject.... While unveiling fancy new equipment can generate headlines, the press generally doesn't ask the deeper question of how new equipment may change existing PLA doctrine or examine potential implications. This is where the good folks from the CMSI come in and provide analyses that are lacking in the blogosphere...."--China Defense Blog, 31 July 2011."...Beijing has a brutally simple--if risky--plan to compensate for [its] relative weakness: buy missiles. And then, buy more of them. All kinds of missiles: short-range and long-range; land-based, air-launched and sea-launched; ballistic and cruise; guided and 'dumb.' Those are the two striking themes that emerge from Chinese Aerospace Power...."--David Axe, "China's Plan to Beat U.S.: Missiles, Missiles and More Missiles," Danger Room, Wired.com, 27 July 2011."The editors Andrew S. Erickson and Lyle J. Goldstein must have sensed that a new wave of the heated debate between both antagonistic groups was coming up when publishing their overview ... the root of the argument remains the perception of a growing military power in China. And this is what the editors of the reviewed book have examined in a very convincing way. ...they have undertaken to publish a survey in which no less than 33 American and Chinese civilian and military experts on China, strategists and members of 'think tanks' examine how China should be perceived.... This approach guarantees that the reader can make a sober assessment when overlaying the Conclusions at the end of each chapter. ... You see that there are many very good reasons to read this thought-provoking analysis, and I have not even mentioned the highly interesting excurses on cruise missiles and ballistic missiles. I bet you will not put this book down until you are through its 493 pages...."--Wolfgang Legien, Editor-in-Chief, Naval Forces; former Director of Politico-Military Affairs, Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic, Naval Forces: The International Forum for Maritime Power 32.7 (July 2011): 85.

From the Back Cover

"In this edited volume, Erickson and Goldstein provide us with a comprehensive survey of China's ongoing efforts to shift the military balance in the Western Pacific decisively in its favor through the development and application of aerospace power as it pertains to the maritime competition. Drawing upon primary research and Chinese sources, this volume will be a valuable and timely addition to the libraries of those with an interest in this issue of growing geostrategic importance."--Dr. Andrew F. Krepinevich Jr., President of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, author of 7 Deadly Scenarios: A Military Futurist Explores the Changing Face of War in the 21st Century"Chinese Aerospace Power arrives on the scene as the United States is facing declining resources for defense while the Chinese are realizing rapid expansion of its military capabilities in the aerospace and maritime domains. Andrew Erickson and Lyle Goldstein yield timely insight into how these two trends are evolving in these arenas. Resolving the security objectives of the United States and China in the Pacific--and around the world--requires that policymakers and military strategists understand the reality of Chinese military capability, experiences, and perspectives. This work provides that insight and is a must read as Chinese aerospace development is significantly altering the character of the military and political balance in the Pacific."--Lt. General David A. Deptula, USAF (Ret.), former USAF Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance"China's air and space development is an area of significant interest for the U.S. Navy. This book elucidates the critical linkage between China's military aerospace and maritime capabilities. Whereas China's rapid progress has already rendered many other studies obsolete, this volume connects the latest 'data point' dots and puts them in strategic context. Navy leaders and planners should read it today."--Admiral Timothy J. Keating, USN (Ret.), former Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Command

About this edition

• Publisher: Naval Institute Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1591142415
• ISBN 13: 9781591142416
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 512
• Editor: Erickson Andrew, Goldstein Lyle J.