China’s Digital Silk Road: implications for Western defence industries

The authors of a recent IISS report on the implications of China’s Digital Silk Road for Western defence industry discuss their findings of five case study countries: Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Poland. What risks does the possibility of a bifurcated global digital ecosystem pose for the national and industrial security of key Asian, European and Middle Eastern states and economies? To what extent does the integration of Chinese information technology and digital infrastructure create challenges for alliance intelligence and defence cooperation? What level of integration should be considered significant and how might security-cooperation efforts (e.g. Western arms exports) be affected? Can security risks to companies doing business abroad be mitigated when the integration of Chinese digital technology into national digital ecosystems is already high? And most importantly, how do national-level case studies compare and contrast on these questions?