On December 19, an affiliate of the state-run China Central Television (CCTV) ran a story about a recent Chinese military wargame in the city of Xuchang, Henan Province, involving the simulation of combat operations by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the Western Hemisphere. Images of the wargame carried by CCTV clearly showed simulated interactions between Red (Chinese) and Blue (Western) forces near Cuba, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean. 

The screens shown by CCTV from the wargame, which also depicted PLA operations in the Sea of Okhotsk and near Taiwan, illustrate how Beijing is thinking about conducting military activities in the Western Hemisphere in the context of a broader war with the West.  

Such evidence lends credence to numerous statements by senior U.S. military officials, including former heads of U.S. Southern Command General Laura Richardson and Admiral Alvin Holsey, regarding the risks of China’s “dual-use” infrastructure – including ports, space, telecommunications, and other projects – in times of war. 

For example, there has long been concern about China’s military use of its “Deep Space Radar” in Neuquen, Argentina. The radar is operated with little Argentine government oversight by an organ of the PLA, and uses communications frequencies commonly used by the Chinese military.  

Another dual-use concern is the “exclusive” operation........

© The Diplomat