A United Stated Navy Intelligence Officer warned that China had become a “mistrusted principal threat” and “bully” on the high seas with an objective to gain control of territories from its neighbors and to sink American ships.
Captain James Fanell, Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence and Information Operations for US Pacific Fleet, alleged that China is fabricating history to support its claims on disputed islands in the south and east China seas.
During a U.S. Naval Institute Conference, Fanell described China as “hegemonic” and displaying aggression towards its adversaries. According to him, China formed a curved front that expanded out against the coast of its neighbors and the entire East China Sea. He said, “China is negotiating for control of other nations’ resources off their coasts; what’s mine is mine, and we’ll negotiate what’s yours.”
In his opinion, Fanell said, “China is knowingly, operationally and incrementally seizing maritime rights of its neighbors under the rubric of a maritime history that is not only contested in the international community, but has largely been fabricated by Chinese government propaganda bureaus.”
In addition, Fanell said that the PLA Navy is a very capable fighting force based on his assessment, citing China’s deployment of its largest submarines and seven surface action groups in the Philippines’ sea. “I can tell you as the fleet intelligence officer, the PLA Navy is going to sea to learn how to do naval warfare … Make no mistake – the [People’s Republic of China] navy is focused on war at sea, and sinking an opposing fleet.”
According to Sam Roggeveen from the Lowly Institute in Sydney, Fanell’s candid assessment about China is a bad news. He said, ”It indicates that China is throwing its weight around in exactly the way its neighbors fear, and that China has no appetite for cooperation or negotiation on its territorial claims.”
Meanwhile, United States government is planning to implement tough measures against China following reports that Chinese hackers attacked the computer systems of the New York Times and other U.S. media outlets including the Wall Street Journal.
The newspaper believed that the hackers wanted to access the e-mail accounts of David Barboza, the chief of its Shanghai bureau and other reporters. Last October, the newspaper published an article written by Barboza about the accumulation of wealth (250.73 billion yen) by the relatives of Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao.
China’s Ministry of Defense denied the allegations and pointed out that cyber crime including hacking is prohibited in China. According to the Ministry, the New York Times’ allegations against the Chinese military is baseless, lacks solid proof, and is unprofessional.
Last week, outgoing U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton said, “We have to begin making it clear to the Chinese–they’re not the only people hacking us or attempting to hack us–that the United States is going to have to take action to protect not only our government’s, but our private sector, from this kind of illegal intrusion.”
