Deterring China isn’t all about submarines. Australia’s ‘cyber offence’ might be its most potent weapon
Greg Austin, University of Technology Sydney Australia doesn’t need to wait ten or 20 years for its new submarines, or for long-range missiles, to project effective military power against China. It has the ability to use its cyber forces to strike strategic targets inside China now, or for the sake of deterrence, to hold out that threat. Cyber attacks are aimed at breaking into enemy military networks to disrupt or disable their systems. They can be used against a variety of weapons and communications systems. Cyber forces are now an integral part of a country’s strike capability in wartime. The…
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Greg Austin, University of Technology Sydney
Australia doesn’t need to wait ten or 20 years for its new submarines, or for long-range missiles, to project effective military power against China.
It has the ability to use its cyber forces to strike strategic targets inside China now, or for the sake of deterrence, to hold out that threat.
Cyber attacks are aimed at breaking into enemy military networks to disrupt or disable their systems. They can be used against a variety of weapons and communications systems.
Cyber forces are now an integral part of a country’s strike capability in wartime. The United States is even now planning wartime cyber attacks against China, should they be needed. According to 2018 figures, the Americans have a force of around 240,000 defence personnel and contractors in place to contribute to cyber defence and cyber attack, with up to one-third likely available to support the latter.
In the event of war, these US cyber attacks could be sustained across the full range of Chinese war capacity. The aim would be to gain what’s called “decision dominance”. This is the “disintegration” of China’s systems and decision-making, “thereby defeating their offensive capabilities” – if we can interpret remarks of the former commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral Philip Davidson, to be a reference to China.
Australia has been much more guarded in discussing cyber offence than the US, but the two allies are in step. Canberra is in the process of tripling the size of its offensive cyber forces under Project Redspice, announced last year.
It could attack military command and control assets anywhere in China in the event of war. Softer targets might include critical national infrastructure, such as the energy grid supporting the war effort.
Australia’s cyber force will remain small compared with the US. But it can also call on private domestic or foreign corporations to design attack packages against China, as the US does.
Australia is aiming for world-class offensive options in cyberspace. The AUKUS allies coordinate closely together on cyber operations, and this area of activity is a prime focus for the new grouping.
In 2020, the United Kingdom set
