China
China’s Tech War
Georgijevic/E+/GettyImagesPlus
Georgijevic/E+/GettyImagesPlus

China’s Tech War

The People’s Republic of China is aggressively advancing its computing and missile capabilities, using U.S. technology, in an effort to achieve world hegemony. ...
William F. Jasper

In mid-October, headline stories around the world heralded a stunning game-changer in global security. China had recently run two tests of a new nuclear-capable hypersonic missile that, reportedly, could evade U.S. anti-ballistic missile systems and deliver a nuclear first strike against the U.S. homeland. The new superfast missile also could be used to carry out surprise attacks against U.S. naval carrier groups, or U.S. air bases and U.S. land-based forces on foreign soil. What’s more, this staggering new development had “caught US intelligence by surprise.” This admission of surprise by our intelligence and defense institutions is all the more alarming when considered alongside the recent expressions of “complete surprise” by our political, military, and intelligence leaders regarding the rapid Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and the Biden administration’s “evacuation” of American troops and personnel from that nation, which turned into an unmitigated (and deadly) disaster.

The stories on China’s hypersonic missiles were based on two mid-October reports in the British Financial Times stating China had “tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August that circled the globe before speeding towards its target, demonstrating an advanced space capability that caught US intelligence by surprise.”

The sources for the Financial Times were five unnamed individuals, presumably from the defense and intelligence communities, who claimed familiarity with the Chinese tests. According to the Financial Times, the Chinese military had launched a rocket that carried a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV), which flew through low-orbit space before cruising down toward its target. The missile, which travels at least five times the speed of sound, missed its target by about 25 miles. But the Times’ sources said the tests “showed that China had made astounding progress on hypersonic weapons and was far more advanced than US officials realised.” “The test has raised new questions about why the US often underestimated China’s military modernization,” the Times noted, quoting one of its sources as saying, “We have no idea how they did this.”

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