By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Monday, November 26, 2007 4:20 PM PT
Defense: A commission concludes that China's growing arsenal is being developed in ways designed to confront the United States. Clearly the People's Republic is doing more these days than preparing for the 2008 Olympics.
The full report of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission released last week details the scope of China's military buildup and the extent to which it is aimed at defeating the U.S. in any conflict over Taiwan.
"The Commission concluded that China is developing its military in ways that enhance its capacity to confront the United States," the report states. "For example, China has developed capability to wage cyber-warfare and to destroy surveillance satellites overhead as part of its tactical, asymmetrical warfare arsenal."
Gen. James E. Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the commission that China is actively engaging in cyber-reconnaissance by probing the computer networks of U.S. government agencies as well as private companies.
An example of that probing occurred in June, when hackers traced to the Chinese military broke into a computer system containing unclassified e-mail accounts in a section of the office of the defense secretary that deals with policy and administrative matters. While the areas hacked were considered unimportant, the complexity of the attack was impressive and demonstrated China's aggressive interest in cyberwarfare.
And that wasn't the first time. In August and September 2006, Chinese computer hackers penetrated the State Department and the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security. This attack forced the government to replace hundreds of computers and take others offline for a month.
The commission considers the U.S. military to be "significantly exposed to such attacks" due to its reliance on computers and technology in command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.
The threat is considered so serious that last year the Pentagon created a new cyberspace command to coordinate offensive and defensive operations. Lt. Gen. Robert Elder of the 8th Air Force was selected to head this new command setup at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.
The report notes that China used an anti-satellite laser to "blind" a U.S. satellite in 2006 and is actively testing microwave weapons to jam satellite communications. America's surveillance and communication satellites are the eyes and ears of our high-tech military and perform vital command and control functions.
"The successful anti-satellite test conducted by the (People's Liberation Army) in January 2007 demonstrated the PLA's ability to destroy satellites through the use of kinetic weapons as well," the report said.
In that test, the Chinese destroyed an aging weather satellite using what's known as a kinetic-kill vehicle sent into space aboard a Chinese ballistic missile.
First reported by Aviation Week & Space Technology, an industry trade magazine, the test destroyed an old Chinese weather satellite called Feng Yun, or "wind and cloud," that measured 4.6 feet on a side, with solar panels that extended 28 feet. Not a big target.
China's military buildup is also aimed at "acquiring the ability to overwhelm the defenses of, and successfully attack, U.S. carrier battle groups." It is building a fleet of silent and deadly attack submarines that may soon surpass our own.
Its undersea warfare capability was demonstrated recently when a Chinese Song-class attack submarine surfaced undetected within weapons distance of the USS Kitty Hawk off Okinawa. The sub was armed with Russian-made, wake-homing torpedoes and anti-ship cruise missiles.
Former supreme leader Deng Xiaoping advised China's military to "hide our capacities and bide our time, be good at maintaining a low profile." Beijing's ultimate weapon may be patience.