Report on secret Indian military exercise 'surprises' China

Beijing, Apr.1 (ANI): A Hindustan Times report last week that suggested that the Indian army had on March 25 concluded a three-day military exercise codenamed Divine Matrix, based on the assumption a "nuclear-armed China will attack India before 2017", has left the government in Beijing surprised.

It said that before the exercise, the Indian military spent six months studying various hypothetical scenarios of war with Beijing and concluded: "China would rely on information warfare to bring India down on its knees before launching an offensive."

It also quoted an officer as saying the People's Liberation Army can now "launch an assault very quickly, without any warning".

The China Daily quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang as telling reporters here: "We are surprised by the report. Leaders of China and India had already reached consensus that the two countries will not pose a threat to each other but rather treat each other as partners."

China is willing to work with India to boost relations over the long term, he said.

Qin also dismissed allegations yesterday that China was involved in worldwide computer espionage, accusing the report's authors of being "possessed by the Cold War ghost".

The Toronto-based Information Warfare Monitor report released on Saturday said that over the past two years, at least 1,295 computers in 103 countries were breached by software used for spying.

"China pays great attention to computer network security, and resolutely opposes and fights any criminal activity harmful to computer networks, such as hacking, Qin said.

"These people's attempts to vilify China through rumors will never succeed," he said. (ANI)