The U.S. Department of Defense has released its annual report, Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China, highlighting China's attempts to gain military advantage.
China is undergoing a military modernization program that is targeting capabilities with the potential to degrade core U.S. military-technological advantages, states the report. “To support this modernization, China uses a variety of methods to acquire foreign military and dual-use technologies, including cyber theft, targeted foreign direct investment and exploitation of the access of private Chinese nationals to such technologies.
“Several cases emerged in 2016 of China using its intelligence services, and employing other illicit approaches that violate U.S. laws and export controls, to obtain national security and export-restricted technologies, controlled equipment and other materials.”
Last year, China identified cyberspace as a critical domain for national security and declared its intent to expedite the development of its cyber forces. The report states that its military may seek to use its cyber warfare capabilities to collect data for intelligence and cyber attack purposes and to constrain an adversary’s actions by targeting network-based logistics, communications and commercial activities.
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