A nation must think before it acts.
Abstract
This article explores the development and application of the People’s Republic of China’s information warfare (IW) strategy to two distinct securitychallenges: the South China Sea and the threat of Uyghur terrorism in Xinjiang. The application of China’s IW strategy in the South China Sea dispute demonstrates that, in contrast to Western understandings whereby IW is seen as an adjunct to more kinetic strategies of conflict, China’s conception of IW is not just relevant in times of conflict or crisis, but applicable across the peacetime-crisis-war spectrum. The application of aspects of the “three warfares” in Xinjiang meanwhile demonstrates China’s blurring of the lines between “national security” and “regime security.”