Defense Secretary Makes Case That China Is A Growing Threat To Europe

David Vergun at the DOD News offers a piece on Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper’s warning to Europe about China.  

In Europe, there is a focus on the threat from Russia. However, there is also a threat from China, the Pentagon's number one concern, said Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper. 

"America's concerns about Beijing's commercial and military expansion should be [Europe's] concerns as well," Esper said, during his remarks at the Munich Security Conference in Germany today.

China is currently applying economic and political pressure publicly and privately on many Indo-Pacific region and European nations, to seek new strategic relationships, he said.

The Belt and Road Initiative is one such example where it uses overseas investments to force other nations into making suboptimal security decisions, the secretary noted. This has wide-ranging implications for the U.S. and allies in areas such as data security and military interoperability.

Another example is China's telecommunication firm Huawei, which has developed and is exporting 5G networks that threaten secure communications and jeopardize U.S. alliances. The department is working to support 5G advances in the U.S. and the secretary said he hopes European nations will follow suit.

Esper said China's President Xi Jinping is leading his nation even faster in the wrong direction: more internal repression, more predatory economic practices, more heavy-handedness and a more aggressive military posture.

The international community needs to be aware of the challenges presented by China's manipulation of the longstanding international rules-based order that has benefited the world for many decades, he said.

Beijing has said that by 2049, it intends to dominate Asia as the preeminent global military power, Esper said.

Over time, the Chinese have seized and militarized islands in the South China Sea, rapidly modernized its armed forces, while seeking to use emerging technology — often acquired through theft — to alter world power in its favor, he said.

Beijing is using artificial intelligence and other technologies to surveil and to repress many of its own people. Also, China is exporting those technologies to other authoritarian regimes, the secretary said.

The world is too interconnected for us not to work together to solve some of our toughest problems." 

For its part, DOD is investing in cutting edge technology to modernize its force and building stronger relationships with allies and partners. Examples, he said, are hypersonics, advanced missile defense systems and artificial intelligence. The goal of developing these weapons is to protect the sovereignty of all freedom-loving countries.

Next year marks the 20th anniversary of China's admission into the World Trade Organization, "a decision that fundamentally altered the course of international affairs," he said.

The thinking at the time was that China's admission into the WTO and other multilateral institutions would result in China's continued path to economic reform and eventually become a responsible global and political stakeholder, and possibly an eventual democracy, he mentioned.

Skeptics, however, warned that China would reap the benefits of free trade to acquire technologies to build a strong military and security state capable of expanding the reach of its authoritarian rule, he said.

"These are both credible arguments but we all know which one is winning right now," he said.

Having said that, the U.S. doesn't seek conflict with China, he said. "In fact, we look for areas of cooperation where our interests converge."

For example, Esper said the U.S. delivered 18 tons of medical supplies to China and provided other assistance to help fight COVID19, the coronavirus. "The world is too interconnected for us not to work together to solve some of our toughest problems."

The world is increasingly becoming aware of China's motives and is responding in turn, he said.

To be a responsible partner in the international community, China must be transparent and respect the sovereignty, freedom and rights of all nations, he said.

Defense Secretary Esper Describes DOD's Increased Cyber Offensive Strategy

Jim Garamone at the Defense Department offers the below piece on Defense Secretary Esper (seen in the above photo) speaking about cybersecurity:

 Cyberspace is a warfighting domain, and the U.S. military must take an active role in defending the country and its allies from threats in that realm, Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper said.

Speaking at the Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's second annual Cybersecurity Summit near Washington, Esper said the National Defense Strategy sets the tone for the military's aggressive stance in the cyberworld.

Cyber is the domain of choice for states and groups that wish to attack the United States, its interests and its allies. ''Strategic competitors such as Russia and China are asserting their military power and challenging the rules-based international order,'' he said. 

Esper said the U.S. military has been waging war on land and sea for more than 200 years and in the air for 100 years, and that it remains dominant in those domains. But only in the past decade have officials been figuring out what fighting in cyberspace entails, he said. 

Just as we do on land, at sea, and in the air, we must posture our forces in cyberspace where we can most effectively accomplish our mission.'' 

The world is quickly becoming dependent on the capabilities that run through the cyber domain, from navigation to targeting to reconnaissance, the secretary noted. 

''While we are having success deterring conventional aggression against the United States, our adversaries are increasingly resorting to malign activity in less traditional areas to undermine our security,'' he said. ''There is perhaps no area where this is more true than in the cyber domain.'' 

Cyber has been part and parcel of what many call hybrid war – a blurring of the lines between peace and war, Esper said. ''For nation-states such as China, Russia, North Korea and Iran, engaging America and our allies below the threshold of armed conflict is a logical choice.''

Cyber allows adversaries to take on the United States and impose costs without confronting its traditional strengths, Esper said. 

Tracking down the perpetrators of a cyberattack is difficult, and attributing them is sometimes impossible, the secretary said, and opponents may conduct campaigns to steal sensitive DOD information in an effort to undermine military advantages. 

''When successful, this coordinated, malicious cyber activity puts us at risk by eroding our capabilities and disrupting our ability to operate once conflict ensues,'' he said.

DOD must respond to these challenges and is hardening networks and systems to continue to execute missions even while under cyberattack. 

''Training to operate in a degraded environment is now regularly built into our exercises, and our service members are quickly becoming aware of our cyber vulnerabilities,'' the secretary said.

But winning in cyberspace requires an offensive strategy, Esper told the summit audience. ''We need to do more than just play goal line defense,'' he said. ''As such, the department's 2018 Cyber Strategy articulates a proactive and assertive approach to defend forward of our own virtual boundaries.

''Just as we do on land, at sea, and in the air, we must posture our forces in cyberspace where we can most effectively accomplish our mission,'' he continued. ''Defending forward allows us to disrupt threats at the initial source before they reach our networks and systems. To do this, we must be in a position to continuously compete with the ongoing campaigns being waged against the United States. Not only does this protect us day-to-day, but enacting this strategy builds the readiness of our cyber warriors so they have the tools, skills and experience needed to succeed in conflict.''

The department is also working with other U.S. agencies to protect American prosperity and democratic institutions as foreign governments conduct operations aimed at 'influencing the American public at a scope and scale never before imagined,' Esper said. 

''The Department of Defense has an important role in defending the American people from this misinformation,'' he said, ''particularly as it pertains to preserving the integrity of our democratic elections.''

DOD demonstrated that capability during last year's midterm elections, the secretary said, with U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency forming an interagency group that shared information, expertise and resources to protect the elections from foreign interference.

''We also expanded our cooperation to the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI and were prepared to provide direct support, if necessary,'' he said. 

DOD also developed capabilities and increased military capacity to detect, locate and exploit threats in the cyber domain with the same focus and energy as in the physical domains.

Finally, DOD had the authorities needed to more fully employ cyber capabilities in an offensive manner, Esper said. ''This policy reflects a shared understanding across the government of the need to maximize the effectiveness of the department’s cyber warriors,'' he added.

The department will take the lessons learned from the 2018 experiences and apply them moving into 2020. ''I consider election security an enduring mission for the Department of Defense,'' the secretary said. 

DOD officials for years have spoken of using a network to defeat a network, and the U.S. military is reaching out to allies and partners around the world to take on the challenge of cyberattacks. 

''Our ability to share information and operate on common communications networks serves as a force multiplier – but, it also comes with increased risk,'' he said. ''To guard against this, we must help our allies develop their own cyber resiliency.''

China is the greatest threat, Esper said, and the Chinese government is ''perpetrating the greatest intellectual property theft in human history.'' Chinese businesses are in thrall to the government, and any nation that partners with Chinese firms to build 5G networks put their own networks at risk. 

''This not only jeopardizes military interoperability and intelligence sharing, but can also compromise commercial institutions such as banks, hospitals and media outlets,'' Esper said. ''This is why it is so important that we work together from the very start to preserve the integrity of our cyber networks.''