‘Be prepared to throw punches’: Chinese military raises alarm over rising threat from spying
Military mouthpiece insists reconnaissance by other countries poses huge risk and Beijing must be ready to counter it
Beijing is stepping up efforts to counter what it sees as growing security threats from foreign spying on China, the military’s mouthpiece warned on Monday.
According to a PLA Daily commentary, a number of incidents indicated that the risk from foreign reconnaissance was cause for alarm.
Those incidents included Japanese news agency Kyodo releasing detailed photos of China’s first home-grown aircraft carrier, and an American oceanographic vessel deploying an underwater drone last month near the South China Sea.
The armed forces of other countries were readying to establish a broad-spectrum spying network, with some agreeing to share intelligence on the Chinese military, the commentary said.
“It has become a huge security threat. We cannot afford to ignore it. Otherwise, if war were to break out tomorrow, intelligence would be our Achilles heel,” it said.
The commentary said China should be prepared to “throw punches” and counter foreign intelligence by using its home turf advantages.