The Pentagon insists that its deal with a Chinese satellite firm to carry U.S. troops’ communications isn’t a security risk. But Congressmen with the ultra-influential House Armed Services Committee don’t want to leave military data in Beijing’s hands. They’re moving to block any future contracts, like the one the Defense Department just signed.
In their just-released revision of next year’s defense budget bill, the members of the committee’s strategic forces panel inserted language that would “prevent the Secretary of Defense from entering into contracts for satellite services” with countries like China and North Korea. There still remain many legislative steps before such a prohibition becomes law. But the move comes just days after the Pentagon agreed to renew a $10.7 million annual lease of China’s Apstar-7 communications satellite, which is supposed to carry data for American forces operating in Africa.
The deal underscores how desperate the U.S. military is for satellite bandwidth, especially in relatively remote locations. But the lease still doesn’t sit well with many House Republicans, who see China as a global competitor to the U.S., not a military partner. (In the last day, American officials have accused Chinese hackers of breaking into Google to get U.S. surveillance targets and restarting a military operation aimed at cleaning out America’s companies of their trade secrets.) Pentagon officials say they’re satisfied that any data passed through the Apstar-7 is properly encrypted and therefore protected from potential eavesdropping by Beijing. The congressmen are worried that the Chinese could just shut down access to the satellite altogether.
The contract “exposes our military to the risk that China may seek to turn off our ‘eyes and ears’ at the time of their choosing,” Rep. Mike Rogers said in a statement shortly after the deal was revealed during an April hearing of the strategic forces panel.
The provision gives the Defense Secretary a bit of wiggle room on future satellite deals with China. But only a bit. The Secretary could waive the prohibition — but only if he and the Director of National Intelligence submit an unclassified report justifying the waiver. Of course, such a justification would immediately be held up as an example of the U.S. government’s failure to adequately provide for its forces.
The partial satellite ban is one of several new items in the bill aimed at Beijing, as tensions between the two nations continue to bubble unevenly. The congressmen are also demanding reports from the Pentagon on China’s emerging missile defense capabilities and on technologies allegedly transferred from NASA to People’s Republic. They want to be notified within 48 hours if there’s been an “attempt by a foreign actor to disrupt, degrade, or destroy a U.S. national security space capability.” (Earlier this month, the Chinese reportedly tested a new anti-satellite missile.) And they’d like the Secretaries of State and Defense to “secure the cooperation of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China to verifiably reduce the spread of technology and expertise that supports the ballistic missile programs” of Syria, Iran, and North Korea. (Chinese tech has allegedly wound up in all three of the rogue regimes’ arsenals.)
How many of these provisions will ultimately wind up in the final Pentagon budget bill is unclear. But if there are any defenders of the Chinese satellite deal in Congress, they did not immediately leap up and publicly proclaim their support. LINK
Posts
