US V. Chinese Spy Battle In Overdrive.

September 18, 2023 Glen Turpening

The US and China continue to ramp up efforts to spy on each other in hopes of gaining any advantage possible. (NY Times)

American officials, most of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss espionage, have stressed in interviews throughout the year the magnitude of the challenge. The C.I.A. is focusing on Mr. Xi himself, and in particular his intentions regarding Taiwan. The F.B.I.’s counterintelligence task forces across the nation have intensified their hunt for Chinese efforts to recruit spies inside the United States. U.S. agents have identified a dozen penetrations by Chinese citizens of military bases on American soil in the last 12 months. Both countries are racing to develop their artificial intelligence technology, which they believe is critical to maintaining a military and economic edge and will give their spy agencies new capabilities. Taken together, U.S. officials say, China’s efforts reach across every facet of national security, diplomacy and advanced commercial technology in the United States and partner nations.

NY Times,By Julian E. Barnes and Edward Wong

The US and China are determined to enter into a new cold war of espionage that target each other. AI is the new frontier of spying with both nations rushing to develop ways to employ this technology to their advantage. Hopefully both countries can take a step back and foster greater cooperation because the acrimony that is currently deeply embedded will not benefit any nation and only leads to distrust and potential conflict. And that would be a total disaster.