The US is building a new software tool to anticipate actions that could anger China, Reuters said

By Mike Stone

HONOLULU, Hawaii (Reuters) – US military commanders in the Pacific have built a software tool to predict how the Chinese government will react to US actions in the region, such as military sales, US-sponsored military activity and congressional visits to places like Taiwan.

Undersecretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks announced the new tool during a visit to the Indo-Pacific Commander in Hawaii on Tuesday.

The tool says it is calculating “strategic friction,” a defense official said. It analyzes early 2020 data and assesses significant activities that have affected US-Sino relations. The computer system will help the Pentagon predict whether certain actions will provoke a major Chinese reaction.

In October, the Chinese military condemned the United States and Canada for sending a warship from the Taiwan Strait, saying it was threatening peace and stability in the region. The events and others like them have fueled the demand for the tool, a U.S. official said, saying the United States should not inadvertently anger China with its actions.

Although relations between the United States and China are at a low point, the tool provides visibility into a variety of activities, such as congressional visits to Taiwan, arms sales to regional allies, or the passage of several U.S. ships across the Taiwan Strait. Excessive or unintentional Chinese reaction.

China says it has democratically ruled Taiwan as its territory, and has repeatedly conducted air force missions over the past year in the Taiwan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), sparking outrage in Taipein.

The new software will allow U.S. officials to anticipate actions planned four months earlier, the official said.