Any future war between China and the United States will be fought on a battle field not of the Pentagon's choosing. For while the large Chinese conventional armed forces are being severely reduced, a huge investment is being made into missile development, nuclear, chemical and biological warfare, advanced radar and electronic systems and in particular, cyberwarfare.
 
China is fully aware of its restricted abilities to challenge the United States in traditional areas of warfare and has put its faith in exploiting a perceived weakness, the US reliance on high-technology, computers and the vulnerability of armed forces that might be 'all at sea' when the lights go out!
 
The United States economy and public utilities are also very vulnerable to cyber-attack and this too will be a prime target in the new Chinese warfighting lexicon. Disruption of the US economy and of the life of the ordinary American will feature high on their list of priorities.
 
There has also been a huge growth in China's Signals Intelligence and Communications monitoring capability, with new listening bases being constructed as far afield as Burma, and to the consternation of the US, in Castro's Cuba, just a few miles of the coast of Florida.

Indeed, Hainan island, the setting for the EP-3 spyplane crisis, is also home to a massive SIGINT complex, along with Space Launching and Naval Intelligence facilities.
 
Allied to this is a vast system of intelligence gathering throughout Western Europe and the United States with the emphasis on industrial and high-technology espionage. The Chinese have had considerable success in planting 'sleepers' within sensitive areas of US Research & Development and have managed to penetrate top-secret US defence facilities.
 
China may not be a global superpower, but like David it might well have a very nasty surprise up its sleeve for the United States Goliath!
 
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