Publication: China Brief Volume: 10 Issue: 3
February 4, 2010 01:51 PM Age: 3 hrs
Category: China Brief, Willy’s Corner, Home Page, China and the Asia-Pacific, Military/Security, Foreign Policy
Source: Willy Lam, Jamestown Foundation
While the furor over cyber attacks against Google has lapsed somewhat, the Sino-American confrontation over the larger issue of Internet security and global digital warfare is expected to intensify in the near future. This is particularly in light of the deterioration of bilateral ties due to issues ranging from the value of the renminbi to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. Even more significant is the fact that despite Washington’s criticism of Beijing’s censorship of the Internet—as well as China-originated sorties against the networks of American government agencies and multinationals—the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership is devoting unprecedented resources to strengthening its already formidable cyber warfare prowess.
Research and development in Net-based combat, including cyber espionage and counter-espionage, figure prominently in the 12th Five Year Plan (2011-2015) that is being drafted by both the central government and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). President and Commander-in-Chief Hu Jintao designated the expansion of electronic warfare capacity as a top priority of the defense and security forces in the coming decade. Preferential policies are also being extended to commercial computer and electronic enterprises for R & D in areas relating to IT security. Since the 1980s, such enterprises have been sharing resources and data with relevant units in the PLA, the para-military People’s Armed Police, the Ministry of State Security (MSS), and the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) (China.com.cn, November 3, 2009; Apple Daily [Hong Kong], January 29; Asiasentinel.com [Hong Kong], January 22).