Defense white paper emphasizes outer space and cyberspace security

The Chinese military has been striving to safeguard the nation's security and interests in outer space and cyberspace, a white paper published on Wednesday said.

China's National Defense in the New Era, released by the State Council Information Office at a news conference in Beijing, gave outer space and cyberspace the same weight as the nuclear force in China's national security, calling them "the major security fields".

The new white paper described outer space as a critical domain in international strategic competition and said its security is strategically significant to national and social development.

With its goal of developing outer space for peaceful purposes, China actively took part in international cooperation in outer space, it said.

The country has been making continuous efforts in its research and development of related technologies and capabilities, the integrated management of space-based information, the tracking and monitoring of space-related situations, the protection of its space assets, and the improvement of its exploration and space resource development capabilities, the white paper said.

It listed cyberspace security as a "key area for national security, economic growth and social development" and said China is facing severe security threats from cyberspace.

It said the Chinese military has been accelerating the construction of cyberspace forces and making all-out efforts to build defensive measures and capabilities commensurate to China's international status.

It would continue to strengthen the country's "internet border defense", detect and fight cyberspace invasion, and ensure information is secure.

"(The military) firmly safeguards the national cyberspace sovereignty, information security and social stability," the white paper said.