Commentary
The pace of China’s espionage offensive against its potential adversaries in the likely upcoming invasion of Taiwan seems to be increasing, and the Biden administration needs to increase its countermeasures. The recent spate of spy balloon incursions and probes of allied defenses in the Western Pacific stand as a reminder of the urgency.
History is full of examples of increasing espionage on the eve of war. Japan’s spying on U.S. assets in Hawaii increased on the eve of Pearl Harbor. Plans for the attack on Pearl Harbor began at least a year beforehand, and the Japanese had excellent intelligence on American military operations. The United States should treat China today like the Roosevelt administration should have treated Imperial Japan before Pearl Harbor, with readiness and trepidation. Diplomacy is stuck, and Chinese officials are making it hard for American officials to negotiate….