Upcoming Cyberwars

Jamyang writes "In the run-up to the first anniversary of September 11, Taiwan's President has accused China of threatening Taipei with "terrorist" tactics in a speech that will fuel Beijing's current fury: "Communist China has accelerated development of 'unrestricted warfare' similar to terrorist methods," he said. Reuters man in Taipei reckon he's referring to "Unrestricted Warfare" [PDF] by leading PLA strategists - Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui - who famously argued that China should focus on "asymmetric engagement" in the 21st century. In fact, many related secret documents have leaked out of China lately. Taiwan's Defense Ministry is taking the threat of infowar very seriously, as can be seen in their 2002 Defense Whitepaper. If the U.S. gets tied up in a ground war in the Middle East, China's going to be real tempted ...."

Comments

Re:Wrong - China can't get away with it

[Infonaut]

I agree that using nukes would be unwise, and I doubt that the US would ever have either cause or compunction to use them in defense of Taiwan. As you note, China's military infrastructure is in most aspects rather antiquated. Their unsophisticated C3I capabilities in particular would make them extremely vulnerable as they massed in the attack.

I'm not sure what you mean about the Russians sitting idly by (or not sitting idly by). Remember that their relationship with China over the years has been anything but smooth, and from a geopolitical point of view, they're natural competitors for the bulk of the Asian land mass. Are you implying that if China and the US engaged in a nuclear exchange, China would bring their own nukes into the fray?

Re:Wrong - China can't get away with it

[L1nUx h4x0r]

However, it does seem unlikely that China would risk (conventional) war with the US over Taiwan; they may have over one billion people, but much of their military technology dates back to the fifties. In the case of invasion, the US would almost certainly come to Taiwan's aid, for better or for worse.

Perhaps you've fallen behind in recent arms trades... Muzi

Also, China's missiles don't seem to shabby... News Max

I'm sure there are other deals going on. Russia's willing to sell anything to make a buck. You might say that their technology is behind the times as well, but it's a funny thing. If you have the airpower, then there is a lot of things you can do with a billion people...

Re:No big surprise there.

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't think he implied that the government need do the labeling. Private groups are jumping on the bandwagon as well. Ask the IFPI.

"Connections between organized South American pirates and Middle Eastern terrorists groups: discs carrying extremist propaganda have been found in Argentina, Mauritius, Pakistan and Paraguay that come from the same source as much of the illegally-produced music in these regions. Other extremist or terrorist groups, for example in Northern Ireland, are partly funded by music piracy."