Expert: To make excuses for the increasingly obvious aggressiveness, the US has released a network strategy to render the "China threat"

On September 12, the US Department of Defense released a non confidential summary of its 2023 Cyber Strategy. The document claims that the United States will use offensive cyber actions to "defeat and dismantle foreign forces and criminals who threaten US interests.". Multiple US media outlets have stated that based on this document, China has been identified by the US Department of Defense as the biggest threat to US cybersecurity.

The office of the US Department of Defense is located at the Pentagon in Virginia

In May of this year, the US Department of Defense submitted the 2023 Cyber Strategy to Congress. At that time, the strategic report only released a 2-page manual to the public. The unclassified abstract released this time, although only 16 pages long, still reveals new priorities and directions of the US cyber strategy. CNN reported that the new document largely reinforces policies that have already taken effect, including a commitment to actively confront US opponents in cyberspace, rather than just defending online.

In the introduction, the Cyber Strategy 2023 points its finger directly at China and Russia, claiming that both countries "use malicious cyber activities as a means to counter conventional US military forces and weaken the combat capabilities of joint forces.".

Among all the opponents and threats mentioned in the document, the US Department of Defense puts China first, falsely accusing China of using cyber means to engage in espionage activities for a long time, stealing and destroying critical defense networks and broader US critical infrastructure, especially defense industrial bases. At the same time, the US Department of Defense has also hyped up China's cyber threats, stating: "In the event of a conflict, China may intend to launch destructive cyber attacks on US soil to hinder military mobilization, create chaos, divert attention and resources. It may also seek to disrupt key networks that enable joint forces to exert their power in combat."

"The United States is just making excuses for its increasingly aggressive behavior in cyberspace," Lu Xiang, an expert on American issues at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told Global Times on the 13th. He believes that overall, this document reflects the United States' need to engage in cyberspace struggles with its opponents, including China, in terms of ideology and politics, intelligence, and combat. Among them, the first level is the most important. This document shows that the United States understands the technology dispute between China and the United States as a confrontation between good and evil, directly linking China's technological development with its ideology and political system, and treating the attack on China's social and political system and the weakening of China's technological development capabilities as both sides, with malicious intentions.

Since the beginning of this year, the United States has been making a big fuss over the issue of "hackers", claiming that "Chinese hackers" have invaded the email addresses of many American officials and government agencies. US officials and Microsoft stated in July that since May this year, "hackers" associated with the Chinese government have infiltrated the email accounts of over 25 US agencies, including at least two government agencies. The Wall Street Journal reported in July that Chinese hackers had infiltrated the email addresses of US Ambassador to China, Burns, and other officials, and at least hundreds of thousands of personal emails within the US government were leaked during this attack. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly criticized such "leaks" as spreading false information and diverting attention from the US side.

Lv Xiang said that from the current behavior of the United States, it is obvious that it is preparing for various forms of war, including cyber warfare. Due to the difficulty of confronting China head-on, the United States is seeking a new form of guerrilla warfare. The 2023 Cyber Strategy of the US Department of Defense is aimed at laying the groundwork for the US to increase military spending and enhance its capabilities in this area.