China Reform Monitor: No. 697

May 5:

Over the past eighteen months, Indian officials say, China has mounted almost daily attacks on Indian official and private computer networks, far outpacing attacks from all other countries combined. The officials describe the assault as constant Chinese scanning and mapping of India’s official networks, in an attempt to understand both their content and how to disable them during a conflict. India has begun efforts to set up defense mechanisms but, the Times of India reports, the New Dehli’s real disadvantage is that it lacks any retaliatory offensive cyberwarfare system to directly counter China’s threats.


May 16:

China is set to allocate $2 million dollars to the Tajik Armed Forces under an agreement reached on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit. The meeting of defense ministers in Dushanbe initiated the talks between China’s Liang Guanglie and Tajikistan’s Sherali Khayrulloyev. The two sides agreed to oppose international terrorism, extremism and drug smuggling both within the SCO and on a bilateral level. In all, China has provided approximately $15 million dollars to the Tajik military according to Russia’s ITAR-TASS news agency.


May 20:

More than half of the hacker attacks on computer systems of South Korea's government and public agencies come from China, with the personal information stolen in the attacks mostly exploited for financial fraud, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reports. In February, for instance, Chinese hackers attacked Internet Auction, eBay’s Korean affiliate, causing an extensive leak of personal information, including members’ credit card numbers and passwords.

Thirty-two Chinese power plants have had to shut down due to lack of fuel, the State Electricity Regulatory Commission said in a report quoted by the Associated Press. It is the second time in three months that Chinese power plants have run short of coal in a country that relies on coal for 70 percent of its electricity. In February, freak snowstorms caught power plants without adequate coal supplies, causing blackouts and factory shutdowns. The trouble this time stemmed from a combination of earthquake damage to the power supply grid and utility companies cutting back on fuel purchases after Beijing froze power prices last year to cool inflation. The SERC gave no indication how Beijing might respond to the latest shortages.


May 21:

Taiwan's new president, Ma Ying-jeou, wants to improve ties with the U.S. and complete an arms deals to bolster the island's military capacity. "We will strengthen bilateral relations with the U.S., our foremost security ally and trading partner," Mr. Ma said after swearing the oath of office. "On top of that, we will rationalize our defense budget and acquire the necessary weaponry to form a solid national defense force." Taiwan asked to buy sixty-six F-16 C/D fighters from the U.S. last year. The deal is valued at $3.3 billion, at a minimum, and is now working its way through the U.S. Congress. If approved, it would be one of the largest arms sales packages from Washington to Taiwan in recent years, the Agence-France Presse reports.