This week CQ Weekly featured an article highlighting Beijing’s growing military brawn and apparent plans to apply it in the Pacific region.  China’s military budget has tripled in the past decade, growing much faster than the country’s red hot gross domestic product.

There are a lot of questions that this growth raises: What does this mean for China’s growing military ambitions?  How should this affect the size and structure of U.S. forces in the Western Pacific?  How should this affect defense spending more broadly?

As a nation, we need to be looking at these issues intently. As founder and chairman of the Congressional China Caucus, I am seeking to answer these very questions through hearings, briefings, and other events. The Caucus is a bipartisan group of Members of Congress who share a common interest in the emergence of China as a political, economic and military actor on both the regional and global stage. The Caucus regularly looks at a number of issues including military/shipbuilding, economy/trade, intellectual property, energy/resources and human rights/religious freedoms.

If you want to stay updated on China and the activities of the Congressional China Caucus, you can sign up for email updates – just check the “China” issue box.

New York Times Op-Ed: China, Japan, America (Paul Krugman)
If discussion of Chinese currency policy seems confusing, it’s only because many people don’t want to face up to the stark, simple reality — namely, that China is deliberately keeping its currency artificially weak.

New York Times: China Explores a Frontier 2 Miles Deep 
When three Chinese scientists plunged to the bottom of the South China Sea in a tiny submarine early this summer, they did more than simply plant their nation’s flag on the dark seabed. The men, who descended more than two miles in a craft the size of a small truck, also signaled Beijing’s intention to take the lead in exploring remote and inaccessible parts of the ocean floor, which are rich in oil, minerals and other resources that the Chinese would like to mine. And many of those resources happen to lie in areas where China has clashed repeatedly with its neighbors over territorial claims.

Defense News: Japan Defense Paper Highlights China's Growing Military Reach 
Japan voiced concern over China's growing military muscle in a defense paper Sept. 10, as a right with Beijing continued over the arrest of a Chinese trawler captain in disputed waters.  In its annual Defense of Japan report, Tokyo pointed to increased Chinese naval activities near its shores, including tense incidents this year in which Chinese helicopters staged close fly-bys of Japanese warships.

Defense Tech: The Asia-Pacific Submarine Buildup; Do They Know Something We Don’t? 
Naval strategist and historian Geoffrey Till, whose recent paper on the balance of naval power in Asia we linked to last week, notices a significant boost in Asia-Pacific submarine builds and buys. Total submarine numbers are expected to increase markedly over the next two decades in Asia-Pacific waters, particularly among smaller powers where small and stealthy submarines are seen as a “force equalizer,” he writes.

New York Times: China Moves to Ease Strain with U.S. 
Top Chinese officials are calling for quiet discussions instead of open friction with the United States, after a summer marked by bilateral disagreements over the value of China’s currency, American military exercises off the Korean Peninsula and American efforts to resolve territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Washington Post: As China finds bigger place in world affairs, its wealth breeds hostility 
In a spasm of violence this spring, an angry mob toppled the Kyrgyzstan president, torched his office and ransacked other buildings associated with his hated authoritarian regime. The crowd then turned on a less obvious target: a popular Chinese-owned shopping mall stuffed with cheap clothes and electronics from China.

Defense Tech: Chinese Media Calls For Carrier Killing Missile, Other Weapons 
China not only must develop an anti-ship ballistic missile but it should develop a range of carrier killing weapons to protect the country’s strategic interests, says an editorial in China’s Global Times. The Naval War College’s Andrew Erickson writes that while the Global Times is not an official government mouthpiece, it is sponsored by and produced by the People’s Daily, which is the official community party paper.

Defense News: Chinese Puzzle 
It took at least six separate sets of maneuvers over nine weeks for Chinese satellite controllers to coax a satellite about the size of a household refrigerator into position beside a slightly smaller spacecraft.  The slow-motion ballet performed 375 miles above the Earth began June 12, when the larger satellite, called SJ-12, began methodically creeping closer and closer to the smaller satellite, SJ-06F. Finally, on Aug. 16, the satellites were flying in tandem. SJ-12 may even have nudged 06F, causing a slight change in the smaller satellite's orbit.

Job-Killing Principles

Spend what you do not have. Runaway stimulus and bailout spending has caused our national debt to reach record levels, allowing it to be financed by China and giving China leverage on the global stage.

Increase energy taxes. Cap-and-trade energy bills like the ones currently before Congress create a national energy tax that would increase energy costs and kill jobs while unemployment stands at almost 10 percent.

Raise taxes on small business and American families. The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported that the economy lost 131,000 jobs in July. 15 million Americans are trying to find work. Raising taxes in the midst of a struggling economy would be detrimental to small businesses and further cripple the economy.



Job Creating Principles

Make tax cuts permanent. Implementing lasting tax cuts will help to restore economic freedom in the United States and put our country on the path to a brighter future. The Economic Freedom Act (H.R. 5029), which I have cosponsored, would reduce taxes for American businesses and families.

Decrease burdensome regulations on small businesses. Small business and entrepreneurs are the cornerstone of our nation's economy. In our current economic situation, it is ever more critical that we support our small businesses by continuing pro-growth policies like lowering taxes, simplifying the tax code, and reducing burdensome regulations.

Lower the debt. Our national debt is expected to reach 93.1% of our GDP this year. Economic experts say even a 1 percent increase in GDP can create almost one million jobs. A commitment to decreasing the debt is a job-creating principle, which is why I have introduced a bill to cut government spending by 40% over the next five years.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of filling in as a guest host for Jimmy Barrett on WRVA’s Richmond morning show.  I did everything from chatting with callers to reporting the traffic and weather.  If you didn’t get a chance to listen, you can hear the show here.  From there, you can listen to any of the 5 interview segments of the broadcast:

• Backing Arizona
• Obama Should Drop Biden
• Virginia's Lessons for America
• Fighting China
• Building Up Fort Lee

The Administration released its National Security Strategy last week and it has been criticized as lacking important cybersecurity details. I have long said that this weakness leaves us vulnerable to threats emanating around the world, and it is something that our government must address. 

I recently joined with Dr. Larry Wortzel, commissioner and former chairman of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, in writing an op-ed to discuss this very issue of bolstering our cyber defenses to make a comprehensive push against global threats. The op-ed ran in Defense News this week.  

Bolster U.S. Cyber Defenses

By LARRY WORTZEL and RANDY FORBES
Defense News 

Published: 31 May 2010 

With the recent confirmation of Army Gen. Keith Alexander as commander of U.S. Cyber Command, America now faces the daunting task of coordinating its military efforts to protect against and respond to cyberattacks. In February, former Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell warned that "the United States is fighting a cyberwar, and we are losing." 

To effectively face this challenge, we must identify the attackers and develop responses in terms of policy, legislation and military preparedness. 

During the first half of 2009, there were reported at least 43,785 incidents of malicious cyber activity directed against the U.S. Department of Defense. These incursions came from a variety of sources, ranging from criminal hackers to foreign governments, and remediation alone cost the Defense Department more than $100 million. That figure does not account for the significant cost of data lost to cyber espionage. 

The most egregious actions - and potentially the most dangerous to U.S. security - have come out of China. Chinese military thinkers believe the United States is far more vulnerable to cyberwar than Beijing, arguing that because U.S. forces rely heavily on computers, satellites and space sensors; operate over vast distances; and depend on supply networks and force projection designed to get supplies and parts where they are needed "just on time," they can be seriously weakened by computer network attacks. 

Efforts by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) to develop its cyberwarfare capabilities began by examining and replicating U.S. computer network operations in the two wars in Iraq and operations in the Balkans. Today, however, China's military is actively developing an indigenous doctrine adapted to the needs of its forces. 

We know from the cyberattacks on Google and users of its Internet services that some computer exploitations by the Chinese government are attempts to strengthen domestic control over the population and suppress human rights activists. In other cases, Chinese use cyber spying to complement traditional espionage, as has been the case with gathering information related to combat aircraft such as the B-1 and B-2 bombers, naval propulsion and electronics systems, a U.S. space shuttle and perhaps the F-35 Lightning II fighter. 

The most serious threat the United States faces from China's cyberwar efforts is the attempt to impede the flow of U.S. forces and supplies to a crisis area. According to Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, some of the computer penetrations of the Department of Defense were a reconnaissance effort to map out U.S. government networks in order to cripple America's military command-and-control systems in the event of a future attack.  

Indeed, some of the more sophisticated military analyses from China's armed forces propose to enhance the ability to attack an adversary's satellite communications and sensor systems, critical transportation and energy infrastructure, ports of air and sea embarkation, and military command systems. 

China is not the only cyber threat faced by American military forces, but it has the fastest-growing and most active approach to cyberwarfare. And while the political climate across the Taiwan Strait has improved recently, Beijing continues to threaten the use of force and has developed military strategies to counter any U.S. effort to employ forces to maintain peace in the case of China-Taiwan conflict. 

There are other potential flashpoints that drive Beijing to develop offensive cyber capabilities, as well, such as the disagreement over freedom of navigation in the Pacific outside China's territorial waters. 

From a policy standpoint, the United States must clarify how it views a cyberattack and explain that it reserves the right to respond by force.  

Furthermore, with the recent confirmation of Alexander, we must stand up U.S. Cyber Command and ensure that its service components have the manpower and equipment to wage effective cyber defenses and, if necessary, undertake offensive operations. We also should be working with Australia, Japan, NATO and South Korea to address cyber penetrations. 

We also must know the origin of the software and hardware in our computer systems and our satellites. It doesn't make much sense to have a computer system built with chips and run on software created in the country that is the most active cyber espionage adversary we face.  

Defense Department supply chains for computer systems and electronic components must come from trusted foundries and use trusted software. Our satellites should be remotely reprogrammable in the event of a cyberattack. 

With a concerted effort by the executive branch, Congress, our defense establishment, industry and allies, we can harden ourselves to cyberattack and ensure that our adversaries know they cannot act with impunity.  

--- 

Larry Wortzel is a commissioner and former chairman of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., is a member of the House Armed Services Committee, and founder and co-chairman of the Congressional China Caucus.

Washington Times: China holds more U.S. debt than indicated.
Despite recent government reports that China's holdings of U.S. Treasury debt declined during the second half of last year, the Asian economic giant almost certainly owns far more Treasury securities than official statistics indicate. After peaking at $801.5 billion, China's holdings of U.S. Treasury securities declined to $755.4 billion at the year's end, dropping the communist power into the position of second-largest holder of Treasury debt after Japan's $768.8 billion, official government data reveal.

New York Times: China Warns U.S. Against Selling F-16s to Taiwan.
A top Chinese military official reaffirmed China’s resolve to punish the United States over its decision to sell weapons to Taiwan and suggested on Thursday that there would be even greater consequences should Washington fulfill a longstanding request by Taiwan for advanced fighter jets. 

Washington Times Op/Ed: Selling China the digital rope to hang us (Kevin Kearns).
U.S. policy toward China increasingly sounds like a spoof from "Saturday Night Live." Google has accused China of launching cyber-attacks on it and least 20 other companies. The Obama administration has all but implicated Beijing in a recent electronic warfare campaign against critical computer networks throughout the U.S. government, military and the broader economy. And for good measure, the Obama Pentagon has identified China's growing military might - powered by is burgeoning technological prowess - as a major threat to U.S. interests not only in East Asia, but also globally.

Washington Post: Poll shows concern about American influence waning as China's grows.
Facing high unemployment and a difficult economy, most Americans think the United States will have a smaller role in the world economy in the coming years, and many believe that while the 20th century may have been the "American Century," the 21st century will belong to China.

Reuters: China PLA officer urges challenging U.S. dominance.
China should build the world's strongest military and move swiftly to displace the United States as the global "champion," a Chinese PLA officer says in a new book reflecting swelling nationalist ambitions. "China's big goal in the 21st century is to become world number one, the top power," Liu writes in his newly published Chinese-language book, "The China Dream." 

Politics Daily: China, Iran Creating 'No-Go' Zones to Thwart U.S. Military Power.
During the Cold War, the Pentagon built the greatest naval and air forces the world had ever seen, endowing the United States with the superpower ability to land huge military forces anywhere in the world, at any time, whether invited in or not. But now the party's over. The United States, Pentagon strategists say, is quickly losing its ability to barge in without permission. Potential target countries and even some lukewarm allies are figuring out ingenious ways to blunt American power without trying to meet it head-on, using a combination of high-tech and low-tech jujitsu.

Today I attended a House Armed Services Committee hearing on recent security developments in China. According to the testimony of Admiral Robert F. Willard, Commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, China has increased its number of ships to 290, bypassing the current number of U.S. ships by 6.  This is an increase of over 30 ships since the Department of Defense last released research on the size of China’s navy in March of last year.

The fact that China’s navy is larger than our navy is unnerving.  But contrast this information with the fact that the Department of Defense continues its refusal to provide a shipbuilding plan to Congress as required by law, and that our federal government continues to face forecasts of severe debt and budget deficits. The broader view is alarming and cause for serious concern. 

I questioned the Department of Defense on this issue during the hearing. Watch our exchange in this video:

Consider the following facts:

-          In response to the global economic downturn, China has made a focused investment in roads and infrastructure to stimulate their economy, while the United States has relied on short term bailout and stimulus packages that borrow money for corporate bailouts and social programs.

-          While China continues to build up and modernize their military force, our Administration is focused on reducing our carrier fleet and has refused to submit a shipbuilding plan as required by law.

-          And while our national debt continues to explode, China has strategically bought up more of our national debt than any other country, thus strengthening their bargaining position.

This week, the U.S.-China Commission released their 2009 report on the People’s Republic of China. As founder and chairman of the Congressional China Caucus, I look at these annual reports closely.  This year’s report highlights that fact that China remains the most aggressive country conducting espionage against the United States. They lack regard for transparency, product safety, and intellectual property rights, and their currency manipulation has greatly contributed to global trading imbalances.

I’ve long argued that China’s actions warrant concern.  I continue to argue so, but I believe equally that the actions of the U.S. warrant great concern. Our national leaders must not wait in developing a cohesive strategy to ensure that China works towards becoming a responsible and cooperative global participant.  But they also must not wait to make clear and concerted efforts to address the runaway spending, ballooning debt, and weakened national defense posture that have marked a recent path toward deteriorating economic, fiscal and strategic security on the global stage.