China’s missiles, pointing at Taiwan, have been the basis of much military and political tension in the past. But and analysis of the 2013 Ballistic and Cruise Missile Threat, which contains contributions from key US intelligence agencies, shows mainly a cut-and-paste report, based on old reports, writes defense analyst Wendell Minnick for Defense News.
Wendell Minnick:
In the summary the report is about the same as previous sections. The paragraph: “China is producing technologically advanced ballistic missiles and has sold ballistic missile technology to other countries. China has an extensive theater missile program and has deployed a large force of ballistic missiles near Taiwan. China is expanding the reach of this force to attempt to prevent foreign powers from becoming involved in any future regional conflict.”
This is identical to the 2009 report, slightly identical to the 2006 report, and slightly expanded from its 1998 report: “China has an active missile development program ranging from SRBMs to ICBMs, and its newest generation of missiles will be considerably more effective than earlier systems,” the 1998 report stated.
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Missiles might be dropping on the ranking order or military threats, cyber war is clearly on the way up. Are the cyber wars a new cold war in a new coat?, the China Weekly Hangout asked on June 27. Joined by media lecturer Paul Fox from HKU, security consultant Mathew Hoover from Hong Kong and China-Africa scholar Winslow Robertson from Washington DC. Moderation by Fons Tuinstra, of the China Speakers Bureau, from Lausanne, Switzerland.
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