Canberra, Nov. 10 (CNA) Mainland China is planning to spend billions of dollars on a high-tech upgrade of its People's Liberation Army (PLA) to prepare to fight a future war in cyberspace with Taiwan and the West.
In a dispatch from Beijing, a correspondent from the Australian on Wednesday reported that China's new emphasis on cyberwar represents a policy U-turn, reversing decades of military planning because of its growing tensions with Taiwan and the West, particularly the United States.
The daily reported that China's PLA recently completed its first full-scale simulation of a virtual war, involving hundreds of officers from artillery, airborne and armored divisions.
The daily quoted a Chinese official report as revealing the exercise featured air and ground troops split into two teams to plan strategies and fight under extreme conditions; the winning team was determined by a computer.
Taiwan and Falun Gong sect have reported that Chinese computer hackers have attacked their information pages with pro-Beijing propaganda.
After Republic of China President Lee Teng-hui announced the special "state-to-state" relationship with China in July, each side of the Taiwan Strait has hacked Web sites of the other's government agencies thousands of times, the daily reported.
The daily quoted Western military analysts as saying that they were concerned about Chinese attempts to develop cyberwar capacity. It quoted Dick Clarke of Washington's National Security Council as saying that an electronic Pearl Harbor was a realistic prospect.
"We could wake up one morning and find a city, or the country, or a section of the country without power because of a surprise electronic warfare attack," he said.
The daily reported that Chinese companies, many of which have strong links with the PLA, have been eager to acquire the latest computer technology developed by US companies. The FBI has reported that some of this equipment is being used for military purposes.
The daily reported that a recent book published by two Chinese air force colonels lists 24 formulations through which China could use tactics outside the conventional handbook of war to infiltrate and weaken an opposing country.
The daily quoted the two colonels as saying that political and economic chaos could be created by hacking into or destroying computer systems with viruses.
Military strategists have also outlined plans to use the Internet and the global financial system as weapons of disruption against the United States, Western Europe and Japan, the daily reported. (by Peter Chen)
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