Military commanders in the Pacific have developed a software tool to predict how the Chinese government will react to US actions in the region such as military sales, US-backed military activity, and even congressional visits to hotspots such as Taiwan. During a visit to the US Indo-Pacific Command in Hawaii on Tuesday, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks was briefed on the new tool.
According to a defense official, the tool calculates “strategic friction.” It examines data since early 2020 and assesses significant activities that have impacted US-China relations. The computer-based system will assist the Pentagon in predicting whether certain actions will elicit a disproportionate Chinese response. The Chinese military condemned the United States and Canada for delivering warships through the Taiwan Strait in October. Saying they were endangering regional peace and stability. The event and others like it have fueled demand for the tool, according to a US official. To ensure that the US does not inadvertently disturb China with its activities.
The relations between the United States and China are under strain
The relations between the United States and China are under strain. As a result, the tool provides visibility into a range of activities. Including congressional visits to Taiwan, arms sales to regional allies. Or when several U.S. ships sailing through the Taiwan Strait may elicit an unexpected or outsized Chinese response. China claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its territory. And has conducted numerous air force missions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the last year, inciting outrage in Taipei.
The new software tool will allow US officials to plan actions up to four months in advance, informs the officials.“With the spectrum of conflict and the challenge sets spanning down into the grey zone. What you see is the need to be looking at a far broader set of indicators. Weaving that together and then understanding the threat interaction,” Hicks said in an interview aboard a military jet en route to California. Hicks is touring US bases this week as the Biden administration finalizes its draught budget for 2023. The Department of Defense hopes to redirect budget dollars toward a military capable of deterring China and Russia.
