US-China row over cyber-spying

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FOR the first time, the US has publicly accused China of cyber-espionage and indicted five Chinese military officials for hacking into American companies to obtain trade secrets.

US Attorney General Eric Holder said in some instances, the hackers stole secret materials that would have been particularly beneficial to Chinese companies at the time they were stolen.

The charges Holder made have been described as unprecedented and are doing US-China ties no favours.

China has denounced the allegations and lodged a “solemn representation with the US side,” including the suspension of bi-national activities to bolster international cyber-security, citing “lack of sincerity on the part of the Americans to resolve issues through dialogue.”

“The fact is China is a victim to such cyberattacks,” Chinese ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai said.

“I don’t know how they can make a distinction between such activities. How do they explain the attacks on Chinese companies, universities and even individuals? Is that for national defence? Or is that for other purposes,” he asked.

The US is said to engage in cyberspying but draws a line between spying for military purpose and for commercial advantage, claiming the two are different and not related and that its spy agencies have not indulged in the latter.

Leaks by Edward Snowden, the former contractor of the US National Security Agency (NSA), however, revealed the NSA has hacked into many Chinese national companies and spied on leaders of many countries, including those of allies Germany and Brazil, sparking public outrage in the two countries.

One US blogger noted: “Snowden’s leaks have already shown that our government is a thief crying thief. Why the need to further demonise the Chinese? That’s the real question.”

According to media accounts, the US has, over the past several years, produced a series of reports about Chinese hacking in order “to raise public awareness about the vulnerabilities in national and corporate cyber defences.”

A report last year by a US-based computer security firm declared that since 2006, China may have been behind at least 141 incidents of corporate hacking.

The Pentagon’s 2013 annual white paper on China’s military capabilities also claimed many of its computer systems around the world were being hacked – some of which, it said, “could be attributed directly to the Chinese government and military.”

“What the US is saying is that it strongly objects to the use of these kinds of resources against commercial civilian targets to extract unfair and unreasonable advantage,” the paper pointed out.

Last year, the US appeared to be standing on firm moral high ground on the issue when it won in the Court of International Opinion.

It was set to make a very public stand on the matter until Snowden came into the picture.

News that the NSA had been hacking into Chinese computers since at least 2009 had been damaging especially, handing the public relations advantage to Bejing on a platter.

Separately, the Chinese defence ministry has called on the US to immediately stop spying on China, saying the charges of cyber-espionage against the five Chinese military officials had seriously damaged trust between the military of both countries.

Viewed from the angle of its Pivot to Asia, the US move to charge the five officials extends beyond cyperspying.

Observers say the indictment is also meant to send a strong signal of Washington’s displeasure at China’s territorial claims in the disputed seas of East Asia.

The picture becomes clear, considering in recent months, the Obama administration has ramped up its sabre-rattling on what it describes as “provocative Chinese actions in pursuit of territorial claims” in the South China Sea.

For its part, Beijing claimed Washington’s attempts to redirect US foreign policy toward Asia after a decade of military adventurism in the Middle East – were “emboldening China’s neighbours and causing tension.”

A source from the Centre for American Studies at Shanghai’s Fudan University pointed out that despite all the tough talking, the indictment of the five officers will not sour US-Chinese to any great extent.

The verbal exchange – harsh at times – will have little impact on trade or military links as the indictment is seen as only symbolic in nature.

Diplomatic circles say political, security and commercial espionage will always happen and the US will keep spying on Chinese companies and leaders – so why can’t China do the same? Hacking is hacking and if the US does it to China, why wouldn’t the Chinese reciprocate? Indeed, the pot will only make a fool of itself if it starts calling the kettle black.