Defense Intelligence Agency forms ‘China mission group’ to track rival

WASHINGTON — The Defense Intelligence Agency is pulling together a group of analysts and experts to monitor competition with China, a world power Pentagon officials consider the leading threat to U.S. national security.

John Kirchhofer, the DIA’s chief of staff , on Nov. 29 said his agency, which produces, analyzes and disseminates military intelligence, established a “China mission group” that will reach full operational capacity early next year.

“It’s as simple as this: We created a box and we called it China,” he said during a livestreamed Intelligence and National Security Alliance event. “If you are in DIA and you are working China, you’re in that box.”

Whereas the CIA is focused on providing intelligence of all kinds to the president, the DIA is the principal source of foreign intel for combat endeavors. The new mission group will become the agency’s repository for China knowledge and knowhow, meaning insiders including Director Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier as well as outsiders will know where to turn “for whatever deep expertise” is needed, according to Kirchhofer, the third-ranking officer.

“This is us integrating to the maximum extent possible on an existential threat to the long-term success of the United States,” he said.

After decades of fighting in the Middle East and investment in counterterrorism and technologies related to smaller-scale conflict, the U.S. is now focusing on China and the Indo-Pacific , a region home to some of the world’s largest militaries, ports and populations.

Defense officials in Washington are warning about the dangers posed by Beijing, and have rallied allies and partners to counteract its global ambitions. The annual China Military Power Report sent to Congress this week notes that China is the only country with the will and military capacity to eventually challenge what it called the U.S.-led “world order,” Defense News reported.

While much of the intelligence community “has been heavily focused in Europe, and that goes back decades,” Kirchhofer said, “that’s not necessarily where this long-term threat is coming from, even with Russia being as belligerent as they are today.”

DIA plans to move more resources — including people, communications and information technology — to the Pacific. Talks to extend the military intelligence agency’s footprint are already underway with friendly nations. The Army, Navy and Air Force are taking a similar tack.

The shift will help “with resiliency in the event of a crisis and some needed redundancy in the event of worst-case scenarios ,” according Kirchhofer.

“It’s very exciting, and I think that is putting our money where our mouth is,” he said. “It really shows our long-term commitment to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and the potential fight against China.”

Colin Demarest was a reporter at C4ISRNET, where he covered military networks, cyber and IT. Colin had previously covered the Department of Energy and its National Nuclear Security Administration — namely Cold War cleanup and nuclear weapons development — for a daily newspaper in South Carolina. Colin is also an award-winning photographer.

华盛顿——美国国防情报局正在召集一批分析师和专家，以监控与中国的竞争。五角大楼官员认为，中国这个世界大国是美国国家安全面临的主要威胁。

美国国防情报局局长约翰·基尔霍弗于 11 月 29 日表示，负责生产、分析和传播军事情报的国防情报局成立了一个“中国任务组”，该任务组将于明年初达到全面运作能力。

“道理很简单：我们划定了一个区域，并称之为中国，”他在一次情报与国家安全联盟的直播活动中说道。“如果你在国防情报局工作，并且负责中国相关事务，那么你就在这个区域里。”

中央情报局 (CIA) 的职责是向总统提供各种情报，而国防情报局 (DIA) 则是作战行动中外国情报的主要来源。据排名第三的官员基尔霍弗 (Kirchhofer) 称，新成立的任务小组将成为该机构的中国知识和技术宝库，这意味着包括局长斯科特·贝里尔中将在内的内部人员以及外部人员都将知道在需要“任何深厚专业知识”时该向谁求助。

他说：“这是我们正在尽最大可能去应对对美国长期成功构成生存威胁的局面。”

在中东经历了数十年的战争，并在反恐和与小规模冲突相关的技术方面投入巨资之后，美国现在将注意力集中在中国和印太地区，该地区拥有世界上一些规模最大的军队、港口和人口。

华盛顿的国防官员警告北京构成的危险，并已联合盟友和伙伴共同遏制其全球野心。《防务新闻》报道称，本周提交给国会的年度《中国军事实力报告》指出，中国是唯一一个有意愿且有军事能力最终挑战其所谓的美国主导的“世界秩序”的国家。

基尔霍弗表示，虽然情报界“几十年来一直高度关注欧洲”，但“即使俄罗斯像今天这样好战，这种长期威胁也未必来自欧洲”。

国防情报局计划将更多资源——包括人员、通信和信息技术——转移到太平洋地区。目前，该机构已与友好国家展开谈判，以扩大其在太平洋地区的影响力。陆军、海军和空军也采取了类似的策略。

基尔霍弗表示，这种转变将有助于“在危机发生时增强韧性，并在最坏的情况下提供一些必要的冗余”。

“这令人非常振奋，我认为这体现了我们言出必行的态度，”他说。“这真正展现了我们对美国印太司令部以及未来可能对抗中国的长期承诺。”

科林·德马雷斯特曾是C4ISRNET的记者，负责报道军事网络、网络安全和信息技术方面的新闻。此前，他曾为南卡罗来纳州的一家日报报道美国能源部及其下属的国家核安全管理局，主要关注冷战后的清理工作和核武器研发。科林还是一位屡获殊荣的摄影师。