Introduction:

Great Power Competition is largely characterized by diplomatic, economic, and military maneuvering. A thread that links these pillars together is the collection of information. The effective collection and exploitation of valuable information will fuel further maneuvering with the desire to corner and weaken a geopolitical opponent to the point of its capitulation. This will both destroy any threats the opponent poses and it will provide a clear road for the spread and consolidation of power and influence for the victorious party.

The aforementioned maneuvering is the current state of geopolitical activity between the United States (U.S.), and the stakes are very high. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is playing to win. Its game plan is to displace the U.S. abroad (militarily and economically) and crush the U.S. once its usefulness to the CCP has been expended. To facilitate this eventual goal, the CCP and its minions have been on an intelligence-collecting campaign that has drastically picked up pace after its dictator, Xi Jinping, came to power. The Chinese espionage campaign is directed at every facet of America, and its focus is on the U.S. government, the private sector, and the military.

Events that Pushed China to Modernize Its Military and to Implement a Large-Scale Espionage Campaign

China as a Spectator of Operation Desert Storm

The CCP has always engaged in some espionage toward the U.S. The desire to know what another country is doing is natural and this will not change. For China, two events radically changed how the nation viewed itself and its military capability in relation to the U.S., particularly as a foe that can threaten the existence of the CCP.

When Operation Desert Storm commenced on January 17, 1991, it displayed to the CCP leadership and its military planners how woefully inadequate its military was compared to the U.S. military and its allies. In the early 1990s, the Chinese military was remarkably similar to the Iraqi army. That is, the Chinese military, like its Iraqi counterparts, was a force built on legacy Soviet equipment guided by antiquated Soviet doctrine.

The CCP leadership witnessed how a technologically superior coalition force absolutely steamrolled the Iraqi army in very short order. Led by the U.S., this force capitalized on guided munitions and advanced land, sea, and air assets. All of this was backed by real-time, satellite-enabled intelligence and communication equipment, giving unprecedented situational awareness and weapons accuracy. This served as a wake-up call for the CCP and jumpstarted its military modernization campaign.

The Taiwan crisis of 1995 and 1996

The Taiwan Strait Crisis of 1995-1996 further demonstrated and hardened China’s resolve to modernize. At this time, Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui made a visit to Cornell University in New York to give a speech with a focus on democracy. Infuriated by this “outrageous” visit and the “evils” of free speech, China conducted missile tests while the Chinese army began mobilizing soldiers in Fujian province. This mobilization was directly across from Taiwan, while it also conducted amphibious exercises. In response to these provocations, President Clinton ordered the USS Nimitz battlegroup to transit the Taiwan Strait.

By 1996, Chinese wrath was rekindled as the Taiwanese presidential elections were underway. In response, China conducted renewed missile tests, with the missiles landing within 25 to 35 miles of two of Taiwan’s busiest ports. At the same time, the Chinese army announced a simulated amphibious assault. At this point, to deter further Chinese adventurism, the U.S. responded more robustly by dispatching the Nimitz battlegroup and the USS Belleau Wood amphibious assault ship through the Taiwan Strait.