[Book Review] A New Way to War: Tom Clancy, Mark Greaney, The US-China War

　The original was published in December 2012. The US president at the time was Barack Obama, and the Chinese leader was replaced by Xi Jinping from Hu Jintao at the Communist Party Congress in November of that year.

　However, the structure of the US-China confrontation depicted in this book anticipates the current situation, which is becoming more serious than it should be. This is because China, led by Xi Jinping, has revealed its territorial ambitions for islands in the South China Sea and is steadily advancing its effective control over them. For readers, the US-China military conflict simulated in this story will be that much more interesting. How does Tom Clancy, who is well versed in intelligence and military technology, describe it?

The drone was hijacked

　It started with a cyber attack.

At first, the target was an air force base in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is the home of an air wing that operates unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), whose mission is to... pilots and sensor crews launch drones in remote areas to prevent invasion by Afghanistan, Pakistan and Africa. It flies over the region...>

　The pilots do not actually fly in the field, but

Just now, an unmanned aircraft was flying over Pakistan at around 20,000 feet. The aircraft is armed with four Hellfire laser-guided air-to-ground missiles and two 500-pound laser-guided bombs under its wings.

　If the drone detects an enemy, it will immediately start attacking remotely.

About 3 hours into the 6 hour reconnaissance mission, the drone suddenly malfunctioned. The pilot, who was operating from Las Vegas, lost control, and the plane changed course on its own and headed for Afghanistan.

　There was nothing they could do in front of the monitor. All automatic safety control systems do not operate. It was clear to everyone that this was no longer a software glitch, but rather that someone had hacked into the drone operation system.

「No way, you can't launch a weapon, right?」　The captain, who was staring at the monitor, voiced his concerns. "It became a reality." "It's too late to follow up with a wingman." The drones soon reached the frontline operating base of US forces in Afghanistan and fired all the weapons they had.

　The nightmare footage of that moment was witnessed on monitors by many at the Air Force Base, CIA Headquarters, and the Department of Defense. The dead amounted to 8 American soldiers and 41 Afghan soldiers.

　In the meeting room of the White House Situation Room (National Security and Crisis Management Office), President Jack Ryan, the Secretary of Defense, the Director of the CIA, the Director of the NSA (National Security Agency), and the Director of National Intelligence High-ranking officials responsible for the situation gathered and discussed measures to overcome the situation.

　The hacker is still unknown. The hackers have left no traces of their identities. In any case, the president had no choice but to order the suspension of the use of all drones until the truth was revealed.

　However, the attack by the drone "hijacking" was only a harbinger.

Five elite operatives

　This work is the fourth in the "Jack Ryan" series by Tom Clancy and Mark Greaney. The main character is US President Jack Ryan. He is portrayed as a tough guy with a strong sense of justice and responsibility, who is uncompromising and resolute in defending his homeland and allies against dictatorships and terrorists.

　In this series, another main character is Jack Jr., the eldest son of the president. He works as an intelligence analyst and operative for "The Canvas," a top-secret private intelligence organization. "The Canvas" was founded on Ryan's idea. Ostensibly billed as a financial investment firm, it is staffed by talented local operatives and IT specialists who, under top-secret direction from the Director of National Intelligence, deal with cases that cannot be handled by public government agencies.

　The local operatives consist of a small number of five people. They are selected from the US military special forces and intelligence agencies, are excellent in shooting and martial arts, and are a group of fierce men who are ready to fight on the front lines. Each time in the series, their personalities are drawn attractively, and the realistic battle scenes are also an element that makes the work popular.

　In this work, the members of "The Campus" play an active role in both Hong Kong and Beijing, running parallel to the movements of the White House. For fans of the series, that's the real thrill. This time, too, there is outstanding interest that exceeds the expectations of readers.

With the armed forces of the People's Liberation Army in the background...

　The current situation in China depicted in the story is like this. China's leadership, which is deepening its conflict with the United States, has a two-headed system: Wei Zhenling, President and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and Su Keqiang, Chairman of the Military Commission.

　Ashi is a technocrat specializing in economics, and Su is a genuine soldier and is now a powerful man who controls the People's Liberation Army. Both of their fathers were high-ranking officials of the Chinese Communist Party, and as members of the second-generation group called the "Prince Party," they have each followed an elite course in their own ways.

　China has achieved double-digit economic growth every year thanks to the special economic zone policy promoted by General Secretary Ashi. However, the momentum of growth began to wane. In addition, the gap between rich and poor was widening, and anti-government movements calling for democratization were becoming apparent. Until now, the repression by the People's Liberation Army and the armed police has eradicated rebels, but due to the economic stagnation, other executives of the Communist Party Standing Committee began to criticize the general secretary. It was Su who saved Ashi, who was in danger of losing his position. He used the force of the People's Liberation Army as a backdrop to suppress dissatisfaction among party cadres.

　Ashi and Su seek further development of China and promote a strong foreign policy. The first step is to settle the territorial issue in the South China Sea, which is in dispute with the Philippines, Indonesia, and India. The second stage is the complete incorporation of Hong Kong into the mainland, absorbing it into the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. The third stage is the annexation of Taiwan.

　Ashi said that it would be realized within 5 years, but Su plans to use the armed forces of the People's Liberation Army to quickly settle the matter within 1 year. Of course, if China advances into the South China Sea, it is naturally expected that the United States will apply pressure. This is because the strike group of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, based in Yokosuka, is keeping an eye on the East China Sea and preparing to advance into the South China Sea at any time. "How does China intend to suppress the US counterattack?" Given the actual situation, this is an area of ​​great interest.

Cultivate the world's strongest hacker group

　They finally decide to go to war. The scene.

"Comrade, we will launch a preemptive strike without pretending that China is doing it to Ryan. We can attack without knowing that the attacker is China," said an anti-U.S. hardliner. Su claims. "Will it go that well?"

　Ashi is skeptical, but Su insists on saying this. "The base for the attack is ready and ready to go. We must use it to our advantage while we still have the upper hand. We must do so. Now our combat capabilities are enormous."

　The Communist Party of China has poured more than 20% of the national budget into defense spending every year. From Su's point of view, in terms of conventional land, sea and air forces, they are equal to or less than the US military. However, it retains cyberattack capabilities that far surpass its opponents. Under the People's Liberation Army, he secretly cultivated a group of hackers that has now become the world's most powerful cyber army.

　As introduced at the beginning of this article, the war was secretly opened. First, they succeeded in neutralizing the forces of unmanned aircraft through cyberattacks. Immediately after, the People's Liberation Army began landing on islands in the South China Sea. Chinese navy attacks Philippine and Indian ships. At the same time, Air Force fighters violated Taiwan's airspace. Taiwanese planes scrambled off, and American planes also took off from the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan. The United States and China have finally entered a state of war.

The nuclear reactor went out of control

　The ensuing battle scenes and the military invasion of the People's Liberation Army have the realism, precision, and authenticity that only Tom Clancy can offer. . How the conflict between the United States and China will escalate into a conflict, and what will happen from here onwards will be the main highlight of this work.

　I would like to introduce the battle situation a little more. The "new form of warfare" is exactly like this. America faces an unprecedented crisis.

　President Ryan tries to avoid war, but he is overwhelmed by China's offensive. Along with the invasion of the People's Liberation Army, Su has launched even more large-scale cyberattacks. Infiltrated the Pentagon's network and brought down the server. This resulted in the loss of much of the ability to communicate between the computer systems of the United States military.

　In addition, civilian infrastructure will also be attacked. The Federal Aviation Administration's air traffic control system and the East Coast metro system are down, and ordinary mobile phones are out of service. Naturally, Americans are in a state of panic. The culmination of this was getting into the system of a nuclear power plant in Arkansas in the southern United States and shutting down the cooling light water pump. The nuclear reactor becomes uncontrollable, the core temperature rises sharply, and the situation is driven to the verge of meltdown.

Legacy of cybersecurity

Why are computer systems in the United States so vulnerable? In this regard, the conversation between President Ryan and the Commander of the US Cyber ​​Command is interesting. Ryan asks. "How on earth have we fallen so far behind China in the area of ​​cybersecurity?"

　The commander's answer is this. "...the bottom line is that there are hundreds of very smart people in China, many of whom have studied here in the United States. They are fighting a modern warfare that is essentially the same as fighting us in arms."

　The excellent hackers needed for cyber warfare are young people in their 20s born in Russia, China, or India. Even if they study in the United States, foreign nationals cannot get jobs that touch the top secrets of the U.S. government. The commander of the Cyber ​​Military submitted a report on cyber attacks many years ago, but lamented that it was not even considered. “America is bad at preparing for something that hasn’t happened yet. In our country, cyber warfare was just a vague concept, a fantasy… until this morning.”

　The counterattack finally reached a stalemate. Ryan's question is answered by a navy admiral who will be the head of the Department of Defense's Naval Operations Planning Division.

"...There are many defenses available to our naval vessels. However, many of those defenses rely on robust communications networks and good satellite data, both of which are currently scarce. is"

　Putting aside the blind spots of modern weapons.

　In order to overcome the situation, there is no choice but to pinpoint and destroy the facility that is the base of the cyber attack. But where is it?

　There is no one who can answer that question. By the time the war broke out, China had secretly compromised the CIA's intranet (a private network within the organization), with operatives disguised as US Embassy personnel in Beijing and NOCs (unprotected by official disguise). Illegal operatives) were identified and expelled from the country one after another. Intelligence gathering activities in the United States are thin, and there are no more reliable personnel on the ground.

　The key was the secret mission of "The Campus". While chasing another cybercrime, they stumble upon the existence of a Chinese hacker group. So how will President Ryan stop China's ambitions? This work is also a book that warns about the nature of war in the near future.

　Real cyber technology has become even more sophisticated since the release of this work. I can't help but shudder at the thought of Japan getting dragged into the US-China war.

"U.S.-China War"

Tom Clancy, Mark Greaney (co-author), Genji Tamura (translation) Publisher: Shinchosha Bunko Edition: Volume 1, page 321, Volume 2, page 328, Volume 3, page 311, Volume 4, page 335 Price: 630 yen (excluding tax) for each volume Issue date: January 1, 2014 for volumes 1 and 2, February 1, 2014 for volumes 3 and 4 ISBN: 1 Volume 978-4-10-247253-8, Volume 2 978-4-10-247254-5, Volume 3 978-4-10-247255-2, Volume 4 978-4-10-247256-9