It added, “The prevalence of China’s state-backed commercial logistics platform provides continuous monitoring of the port capabilities and throughput of US cargo and those of our allies and partners during peacetime.” Predict current or future operations.
Although the issue is often missing from discussions about securing supply chains, a group of bipartisan US lawmakers is drawing attention to it.
In March, Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, and Representative Michelle Steele, a Republican from California, introduced the Safeguarding Marine Data from Communist China Act in both congressional chambers, calling LogLink “a recipe for disaster.”
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the IPEF launch event in Tokyo in May 2022. Photo: Reuters
The bill, which is co-sponsored by Senator Mark Kelly, Democrat of Arizona, not only prohibits the US Department of Defense from entering into contracts with any entity using Logiink, but also requires the US President to ensure that Requirement that any major international agreement, such as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), prevent expansion of the platform through US industries as well as US allies.
Steele said there has been recent awareness that China “has been using the data and logistics platform LogInc for years to spy on our supply chains and gather data about any potential vulnerabilities”.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comments.
Although the bill has yet to make any progress in the US Congress, the issue is also addressed in the Republican-controlled House’s version of the annual defense spending bill, which calls for “securing maritime data from China”. .
Representative Dusty Johnson, a Republican from South Dakota, introduced the provision as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would prevent “US ports from using China’s state-backed” logins that take federal grant money.
US Representative Michelle Steele says China uses LogInc to “spy on our supply chains and gather data about any potential vulnerabilities”. Photo: AP
“Loginc provides massive monitoring, data and logistics infrastructure [Chinese Communist Party] – It is imperative that we keep Logiink out of US ports,” Johnson said in June. “China already unfairly competes in the global shipping sector. Blocking their access to US port data is one small step in keeping this gain to a minimum.
The defense spending bill, which passed along party lines in the House, faces a tough roadblock in the Democratic-controlled Senate as it blocks abortion rights for service members, healthcare for transgender troops and funding of diversity and inclusion initiatives. Related amendments were included.
The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission raised concerns about Logiink in September 2022. It said the Chinese government could potentially “gain access to and control a massive amount of sensitive data”, including commercial transport of US military cargo, information on supply chain vulnerabilities. and important market information.
The panel cautioned that global shipping data obtained through Logiink “could interfere with or disrupt U.S. operations or functions, including foreign military arms and munitions sales (such as to Ukraine or Taiwan), the movement of U.S. military forces, or the stability of the United States.” can enable.” foreign strategic, military, intelligence or other operation”.
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Experts agree that knowledge of what is happening where and at what cost can provide commercial and strategic advantages, while also frustrating US-led efforts to de-risk critical supply chains.
Gabriel Collins of the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University in Houston said efforts to derisk supply chains were complicated and potentially undermined by Beijing’s “informational advantage”.
“Even if you are pulling material production out of China to some extent and repositioning it elsewhere, whether it is Vietnam, Malaysia, India, the United States or Mexico, you still have the PRC in positional advantage. issue that could potentially be turned against you in a number of ways,” said Collins, who in April wrote a paper titled “China’s LogInc platform and its strategic potential for economic, political and military power projection” Co-authored the research paper.
The report describes Logiink’s ability to help Beijing “combat allied logistical support from the factory floor to the frontline” as “a challenge the United States has never faced before.”
By June 2022, China’s state-owned COSCO Shipping Corp Ltd will have 50 container terminals around the world. Photo: AP
Citing an example of how Logiink could enable China to block or disrupt trade flows, Collins noted that in 2016 Hong Kong authorities seized a shipment carrying Singaporean armored vehicles and equipment. which was on its way back to Singapore after a drill on Taiwan.
“I think this just confirms that, one, the PRC government is watching what’s going on through the shipping channels, and, second, if they see it in their own interest, they are willing to act on it.” Ready,” he said. Said.
Facility tools have become more advanced over the past seven years, and “by combining all these data sets, you have a pretty good picture of the world and what’s going on in your systems,” Collins said.
Andy Mok, a senior research fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, a Beijing-based think tank, described Logiink as “not just a service provider, but a strategic asset for China’s development and security” and that it ” was a reflection”. about China’s legitimate interests and aspirations”.
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“LogInc can also contribute to the global common good by facilitating trade, collaboration and innovation,” he added. He stressed that the key is to ensure that it is “operated in a transparent, accountable and responsible manner that respects the interests and rights of all stakeholders.” ,
The Brookings report states that despite this growing awareness, the Department of Defense still uses multiple systems and unclassified networks for its logistics data, which creates challenges in protecting it from cyber threats and “ensuring the integrity of supply chains”. does.
Representative Mike Gallagher, the Republican chairman of the House Select Committee on China, recently called the Pentagon “a colossal emitter of data.”
“But the Pentagon doesn’t treat data the way it treats gunpowder,” he said, and called its supply chain planning “bloated, ossified, antiquated.”
The Brookings report noted that Chinese companies “have taken control of physical logistics infrastructure around the world and critical terminals in the US”, arguing that “adversaries during the crisis could cause delays or disruptions in support of critical logistics”. endangering operations and killing people”.
US Representative Mike Gallagher, a Republican from Wisconsin, leads the House Select Committee on China. Photo: AP
State-owned China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) currently has ownership stakes in terminals at five US ports, including joint ventures in Seattle, Los Angeles and Long Beach, California.
Cosco Shipping Group stated that they “do not have a controlling stake” in these joint ventures, and that it was “a common practice for major global shipping companies to enhance their services by leasing terminals through joint venture arrangements”. .
“As a leading global shipping enterprise, COSCO Shipping Group strives to promote economic growth and smooth trade around the world while maintaining a strong legal and compliance culture across all of our global operations,” a PR official for the company said in an emailed statement. Committed to deliver.”
However, the Brookings report claims that “this real-time visibility creates considerable vulnerabilities for US operations and logistics”.
As of June 2022, China Cosco Shipping Corp Ltd will have 50 container terminals worldwide, according to German data platform Statistica. COSCO Shipping Ports Limited, a subsidiary, operates 37 ports globally. In October 2022, Germany allowed COSCO Shipping Ports Ltd to acquire 24.9 per cent shares of Tollerort, a container terminal in Hamburg.
David Heindel, president of the Seafarers’ International Union, the largest North American union representing merchant mariners, said, “For American seafarers, being tracked by a foreign country brings back scenes from World Wars I and II, when German U-boats sank our ships indiscriminately.” ,
Heindel called on the US Congress to act “appropriately and expeditiously”, saying: “These threats are not part of a science fiction plot. They are real.”
Source: www.scmp.com
