Into the grey zone: how the US could change the game with China and Russia

Name: US, China, Russia, Britain and France pledge to only use nuclear weapons for defence
Uploaded: 2022-01-05T22:00:26.000Z
Duration: 3 min 55 s
Description: US, China, Russia, Britain and France pledge to only use nuclear weapons for defence

Washington needs a whole-of-government approach to respond to the challenges of the two rivals, strategists say

Cyber operations and wedge issues among the options in the toolkit, they say

Reading Time:2 minutes

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The US military must “defend more aggressively and take offensive actions in the grey zone”, especially in the areas like information, intelligence and cyberspace, strategists say. Photo: Shutterstock

Liu Zhen

Published: 6:00am, 6 Jan 2022Updated: 7:39am, 6 Jan 2022

Washington should take more aggressive “grey-zone” strategies – warfare just short of armed conflict - to tackle China and Russia, according to a group of US military strategists including former defence chief Chuck Hagel.

In recommendations published by US think tank the Atlantic Council last month, the strategists said China and Russia had conducted unconventional offensives against the US, including online cyberattacks, and misinformation and disinformation campaigns.

As a result, the US military must “defend more aggressively and take offensive actions in the grey zone”, especially in the areas like information, intelligence and cyberspace, they said.

Moreover, such hybrid warfare must involve not just the military but all of the government, including the country’s diplomatic, economic, financial and developmental wings.

The think tank’s suggestion comes as the administration of US President Joe Biden readies to release its national security and defence strategies in the coming weeks.

The new strategies are expected to again identify China and Russia as the key threats that “put at risk US global power and prestige” and identify ways to counter them.

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US, China, Russia, Britain and France pledge to only use nuclear weapons for defence

Into the grey zone: how the US could change the game with China and Russia

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Washington needs a whole-of-government approach to respond to the challenges of the two rivals, strategists say Cyber operations and wedge issues among the options in the toolkit, they say

Washington needs a whole-of-government approach to respond to the challenges of the two rivals, strategists say

Cyber operations and wedge issues among the options in the toolkit, they say