By Adam Segal
Joseph Nye has an interesting article in the Winter 2011 issue of Strategic Studies Quarterly that applies some of the lessons of the nuclear age to cybersecurity. It’s well worth the read, and I thought I might try the same, using what we know about the study of Chinese technology policy to shed some light on China and cyber.
Linking cyber and technology policy is a form of techno nationalism that’s widely and deeply held by Chinese policymakers. The objectives are clear: China doesn’t want to depend on other countries for critical technologies, the United States and Japan in particular. The 2006 Medium to Long Term Plan on Science and Technology(MLP) puts it plainly: “Facts have proved that, in areas critical to the national economy and security, core technologies cannot be purchased.” The Chinese tend to see the current system as, if not unfair, then stacked against them, and so commentaries often focus on competitors’ unfair advantages (U.S. firms dominate hardware and software sectors, 10 of the 13 root servers in U.S.) and China’s victimization (China is the biggest victim of cybercrime).
Read the full story at The Diplomat