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CRINK'S GLOBAL OFFENSIVE: THE RAPID ACCELERATION OF ATTACKS AND THE NEW ERA OF "ALL- FRONT" WARFARE By Evan Anderson Why Read: We are entering a bifurcated world in a new era of daily, always-on conflict in all walks of life. This week, we cover the new era of hybrid warfare being waged by the CRINK alliance, including overviews of the nature of kinetic, economic, information, and political warfare and how they're being used today; and why the pattern of events in the daily news headlines is more important as a whole than is any one alone. ______ In strategy surprise becomes more feasible the closer it occurs to the tactical realm, and more difficult, the more it approaches the higher levels of policy. - Carl von Clausewitz, On War (1832) For years, we at INVNT/IP (of which I am CEO) have sounded the alarm regarding the critical threat that nation-sponsored intellectual-property theft - particularly at the scale perpetrated by the People's Republic of China (PRC) - poses to the free world. Along the way, we have had countless conversations with top global leaders about Chinese strategies and planning. These days, what Xi Jinping wishes the world to look like in a decade or so is a regular topic in national-security circles. Long gone are the days of prevaricating about the PRC threat. The previously commonplace refrains about China becoming an innovator, joining the global economy, and moving responsibly into the community of nations have disappeared. Small wonder. Since 2020, the Chinese state has grown in economic power following decades of rampant theft, copying, and illegal subsidization. The recent emergence of Wolf warrior diplomacy has shown the true face of Xi's vision. We were not, in fact, headed toward a peaceful, multipolar world. Rather, the thugs who beat their way to the top of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had also beaten their way to the top of the global economy. The results for every other nation on earth would not be pleasant. China was gearing up to take over industries, regions, and governments. And for years, we have also covered the rise of the CRINK (China, Russia, Iran, North Korea) alliance in the pages of the SNS Global Report. Now, the same type of time-wasting prevaricating about the level of cooperation between the nations involved is finally coming to an end. At this point, the informal (now increasingly formal) cabal formed between CRINK nations has become the top issue in every geopolitical headline, whether or not those involved know it. Last week, US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson finally snapped out of it, stopped blocking aid to our allies, and helped to pass multi-use legislation on Ukraine, Israel, and TikTok. When asked on the Capitol steps what made him change his mind, he said: History judges us for what we do. [. . .] This is a critical time right now. I could make a selfish decision and do something that's different. But I'm doing here what I believe to be the right thing. I think providing lethal aid to Ukraine right now is critically important. [. . .] I really do believe the intel. I think that Vladimir Putin would continue to march through Europe if he were allowed. I think he might go to the Baltics next. I think he might have a showdown with Poland or one of our NATO allies. Johnson referenced the growing alliance between China, Russia, and Iran as a relevant aspect of this choice. He forgot one of our CRINK members ["CRINK" is our coinage], but it appears that he's beginning to see the patterns. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen spent the month pondering how to address China's excess industrial production and the possibility of seizing Russian money, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has issued strong warnings in a visit to Beijing regarding support for Russian military production, and FBI Director Christopher Wray advised that Chinese hackers are deep inside US critical infrastructure and plotting to attack it. At the same time, the German government broke up multiple Chinese and Russian spy operations simultaneously. A Chinese agent planted in European Parliament, a group of Germans passing military secrets to China, and a Russian plot to bomb German military sites were all featured. Konstantin von Notz, head of the parliamentary committee overseeing Germany's intelligence services, told the Financial Times: We are now discussing new forms by authoritarian states to influence and destabilise our democracy on an almost daily basis [] We are currently only seeing the tip of the iceberg. One must assume that hundreds of spies are up to mischief in Germany. If it feels like CRINK is at war, it's because it is. |
