China hacking 'an act of war': Fred Fleitz
The United States Navy and its partners are “under cyber siege” from Chinese hackers that are attempting to uncover America’s military weaknesses, according to The Wall Street Journal.
This report came one day after President Trump unveiled his budget proposal to add $34 billion for defense spending, highlighting the need for extensive investment in the military to fend off cyberattacks from foreign adversaries.
Fred Fleitz, a former White House National Security Council Chief of Staff, called the cyberattack “an act of war” and emphasized the critical need to defend the U.S. military against cyber warfare.
“It is stealing a technological edge that the US taxpayer has spent billions of dollars to develop and makes us much more vulnerable to China,” he told FOX Business’ David Asman on Tuesday.
“We are at war with China,” Fleitz noted, “this is an act of war, and how can we trust China in these trade talks when we see such a massive attack on our military secrets?”
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Author and Fox News contributor Walid Phares urged that the U.S. must create a defensive strategy against the Chinese that includes counter-cyberattacks while keeping a distinct presence in the Pacific.
“The only force in the Pacific that is blocking China from Japan, to South Korea, to Taiwan, to the Philippines, is the U.S. Navy,” he said on “Lou Dobbs Tonight.”
Phares added, “We are all over the place, and this is where they want to expand because China, as we all know now, is outside China. It’s in East Africa, it’s in Latin America. We have to understand what the Chinese are trying to do. And of course we need to design a counter-strategy.”