China China China Hack Hack Hack OilWar CyberWar GasWar CultureWar

* *I wouldn’t want to claim here in the ol’ blog that Chinese intelligence is spear-phishing American natural gas pipelines — while at the same time that the Chinese Navy surrounds obscure, oil-rich atolls — while, also, the first Chinese offshore oil-rigs open up full production — because, well, I can’t doubt there’s some well-financed China-baiter within the Beltway who’s more than willing to connect those dots for me. Why should I waste my time with irresponsible allegations? That kind of rumor will pay somebody handsomely. *I rather doubt that anybody’s gonna get shot over these uninhabitable oil islands — at least, not shot by any formal, uniformed national military — but it’s awesome to watch Chinese soft-power oozing around on the seabed acting all plausibly-deniable. Everybody knows the Chinese have been cyberwarring for years now, but hey, an oil resource-grab, that’s the bigtime. *And the reaction’s just as entertaining. Check out that ACORN guy from India immediately demanding that his government hire and pay lots more aggressive right-wing anti-Chinese Indian punditry, ie, lots more guys like him. *In the meantime, the Japanese media (read: leak by Japanese intelligence) float an awesome rumor that the architect of the Great Chinese Firewall was in bed with notorious purge-victim Bo Xilai and helping him to wiretap the Chinese elite. Wow! I’d love to meet the Japanese provocateurs who thought that one up — I rather imagine that, like British spook Ian Fleming, they write thriller novels on weekends. *Of course everybody in Chinese social-media immediately believes this brilliant rumor must be true. Score one for Japan, who don’t even register their icy displeasure over all those oily Chinese gunboats. It’s a wonder that everybody’s not counter-attacking hacker Chinese cyberwar by counter-cyberwarring through the Chinese social media. That’s like one of those Asian go-stone maneuvers, too inscrutable for mere Occidentals. *Of course, these are mere suspicions of mine. I’m a novelist, I make up some wild stuff. Yup. You betcha. If intelligence services were really doing all that, how would anybody prove it? Nowadays, that’s like proving that certain suspect people are blown to pieces with formally-deniable drones. *This story doesn’t have enough drones in yet. But I’d bet the farm that they’re coming. http://m.csmonitor.com/USA/2012/0510/Exclusive-potential-China-link-to-cyberattacks-on-gas-pipeline-companies http://acorn.nationalinterest.in/2011/09/20/the-asian-balance-assessing-indias-east-asian-engagement/ http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20120511000003&cid=1601 http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20120509000073&cid=1101&MainCatID=11 http://www.chinasmack.com/2012/pictures/chinese-south-china-sea-oil-rig-workers-take-helicopter-to-work.html *Can’t tell the players without a scorecard. http://www.wantchinatimes.com/Features/RedNobility/Red.html * Post Comment | * Comments | * Permalink