the opinionist

Our beloved mainstream media reported today on China’s plans to increase its defense spending by a whopping 15%.

Quote, “China is to increase official military spending by almost 15 per cent this year as it seeks to upgrade its smart technology and improve the living standards of its soldiers.”

The story suggests the U.S. believes China’s military expenditures to be, in reality, significantly higher – thanks to hidden (but major) arms purchases from our Russian friends – kept off the radar and below the balance sheet.

Such press stories rarely offer insight into the bigger picture / a comparative essay of Chinese military expenditure (and that of all nations) versus to THE military industrial complex; the great U.S. ‘Defense’ Budget – and you need to wonder why!

In simple terms; according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute {SPIRRI} – (page 10) World military expenditure in 2007 was $1.34 Trillion, a 6% increase over 2006 – which is a measly 2.5% of the World’s GDP. The U.S.’s military spending is a staggering 45% of the World’s total spending, followed by the U.K., China, France and Japan with a lowly 4-5% each.

So, the U.S. provides 45% of world military expenditure and, questionably, our biggest military foe / future adversary / potential replacement hyper-power, China, spends a pathetic 5%. If the U.S. is correct and China surreptitiously spends more (under the table) then even if we double China’s spending estimate to a massive 10% of world spending … the U.S. still offers more than 4 times the military spending habit for its money.

So what’s the point?

China cares not for hypersonic cruising stealthy dual-purpose fighter bombers than can penetrate complex enemy radar whilst deploying a lethal payload of multiple-headed laser guided missiles down bad-guy chimneys and through the patio doors of high profile despotic wannabe-dictators typically armed by slightly-used tin-plated Russian-made kalashnikov rifles.

China does not have a defense industry stocked at CEO and executive board level by former Pentagon Generals equipped with canny Lobbyist ambitions to milk and fleece the ’system’ – the Pentagon, Senate Committees – (the tax-payer) – weapons systems ultimately designed, built, sold and deployed throughout U.S. armed forces for a bygone era of Soviet expansionism and Cold War detente.

No. Our Sinonese trade partners – our bankers – our Eastern Allies – are happy to spend a few thousand dollars on a few laptops in comparison to the billions spent by the U.S. on a new Joint Strike Fighter Stealth Plane – F-35B Lightning.

China arms its 21st century army with technology tools (PCs / networking) to infiltrate and destroy the enemy (the West’s) infrastructure with the painfully difficult to trace tactics of cyber warfare. The U.S. can gain brownie points for surgical targeting of enemy military targets based on frequently flawed military intelligence and an absolutely shite political process but China wins the bigger picture by exploiting our weaknesses right under our noses.

China, it is reported, has the ambition and the purported ability to target an aircraft carrier battle group – the pride, the tip of the spear of U.S. regional military might – through a dedicated cyber attack by formerly Western educated military hackers fueled by Chinese nationalism.

The Chinese are building whole military divisions for the sole purpose of cyber-warfare. The ability to target the vast U.S. industrial infrastructure, communications, power stations, water purification plants, hospitals and civil government. To deny its enemy – the U.S. – with the ability to sustain day to day operations, yet alone the will to fight a ‘conventional’ (or nuclear?) war.

Tim Reid – of the Times newspaper – wrote this engaging opening to an often quoted and rarely refuted article entitled “China’s cyber army is preparing to march on America, says Pentagon.”

Chinese military hackers have prepared a detailed plan to disable America’s aircraft battle carrier fleet with a devastating cyber attack, according to a Pentagon report obtained by The Times.

The blueprint for such an assault, drawn up by two hackers working for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), is part of an aggressive push by Beijing to achieve “electronic dominance” over each of its global rivals by 2050, particularly the US, Britain, Russia and South Korea.

The Chinese are continually probing our military, our industrial and political networks and those of our allies. Germany’s Chancellor Anegla Merkel had to smile and shake hands with the Chinese Premier during a visit in August of 2007 whilst German newspapers brandished evidence of Chinese espionage and cyber attacks on Merkel’s very political office.

The U.S. political machine – during the 2008 Presidential campaign – (of both political parties) – for Obama and McCain – became the ultimate targets for Chinese cyber-espionage. Espionage that included data theft, surveillance and political engineering designed to improve China’s position and ability to counter future U.S. foreign policy initiatives.

China’s hackers, spies, and a broad web of intelligence resources are embedded throughout U.S. society; across dummy corporations, foreign students, tourists, and businessmen – each armed with specific objectives including the theft of industrial and military secrets that can improve China’s ability to wage and win a 21st century war against the U.S.

Report are report, Congressional committee hearing after hearing and warning after warning are wasted on either the incompetent or just blatantly corrupt ears of our great leaders and nothing appears to shake their nerves or tighten their resolve to combat this underground war being waged one-sided against the U.S. right here and right now.

The U.S. is losing the war and nobody seems to give a damn.

Supporting Info:

- Department of Defense – Annual Report to Congress on Military Power of the People’s Republic of China (2007) (.pdf)

- SPIRRI – Stockholm International Peace Research Institute – Annual Report (2008) (.pdf)

Posted on March 5th, 2009 under China, Cold War, Communism, Conspiracy, Cyber-Warfare, Defense Security Service, Domestic Spying, Espionage, Homeland Security, Human Rights Watch, Jack Bauer, Merkel, Obama, Oval Office, Pentagon, Politics, Spying, Tim Reid, Times Newspaper, congress, counter-intelligence, defence, patriot act •  Email This Post • RSS 2.0 feed • Leave a response, or trackback