China, June 6 – According to a recent report from an Australian think group, Chinese research into several important military technology is so advanced that the United States and its major allies will constantly fall behind.
Based on an analysis of the most widely cited research papers, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) published its findings on Tuesday and came to the conclusion that China leads in 19 of 23 important categories, including some technologies that are likely to play a significant role in Beijing’s efforts for military dominance in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.
The study finds that China “has a commanding lead in hypersonic technology, electronics, and major underwater capabilities,” and warns that “China’s advances are so pronounced that they create a significant risk that Beijing could dominate the advancements of technological future in these fields”.
The data also shows that China has nine of the top ten research institutes for hypersonics and all ten of the top research institutes for underwater drones.
Hypersonic weapons are extremely maneuverable while traveling five times faster than the speed of sound than ballistic missiles, which fly at hypersonic speeds but follow a fixed course.
All other nations and China are separated from each other by a wide margin. China contributes more than 73% of the research in some fields of technology, such as hypersonics, more than the US and the other eight nations put together.
The data also finds hints that China is benefiting from Western research organizations.
According to ASPI, more than 14% of China’s “most influential” writers—those who are responsible for the most often referenced works—completed their doctoral studies in the US, Australia, or the UK.
There are several areas, though, where the US and its allies are better off.
According to ASPI, the United States is at the forefront of high-impact research in the fields of defensive cybersecurity, quantum computing and sensors, various branches of artificial intelligence, and autonomous systems.
The difference narrows a bit further when US research efforts are coupled with those of Australia and Britain, the so-called AUKUS cooperation, but China still has a sizable research lead.
The value of the technology sharing agreement, whose goal is to accelerate joint technological development by enabling partners to use each other’s strengths, is highlighted by the fact that the three AUKUS nations still lag behind China in some areas, according to a statement that is included with the ASPI report.
The results, according to ASPI, should “strengthen calls for AUKUS countries to expand technological cooperation with other countries such as Japan.”
In order to address shared concerns in the Indo-Pacific and develop breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and cyber defense, the US, Australia, and Britain signed the AUKUS pact in September 2021.
One of the three nations’ alliance’s more visible components was a deal between Washington and Canberra to construct at least eight nuclear-powered submarines for Australia.
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