Sun Tzu: On Espionage …
‘Hostile armies can confront each other for years 
in order to struggle for victory in a decisive battle; yet if one who begrudges rank, honours and a few hundred pieces of gold and remains ignorant of the enemy’s situation, he is completely unaware of the interests of the State and its people.
Such a man is no General, no good assistant to his Sovereign and such a Sovereign no master of victory.
Now the reason a brilliant Sovereign and a wise General conquer the enemy whenever they move and their achievements surpass those of ordinary men is their foreknowledge of the enemy’s situation.
This ‘foreknowledge’ cannot be elicited from spirits, ‘nor from gods ‘nor by analogy with past events or astrological calculations.
It must be obtained from men who know the enemy’s situation!’
In order to put espionage to effective use, the ancient Chinese believed that the information obtained by spies needed to be analysed and interpreted by a person of real discernment. To understand the use of spies was considered the most mysterious display of a leader’s ability.
Military, political and industrial espionage are realities in today’s world, as are entirely ethical techniques for obtaining information about your adversaries. The West is only now realising how important the qualifications are of people who must direct these intelligence operations and interpret the information obtained.
Chin-Ning Chu stressed in writing ‘The Asian Mind Game’ the need to have people with a complete understanding of the Asian mind to interpret data from Far Eastern markets.
It is clear that the ancient Chinese regarded the use of spies as vitally important. The ultimate goal then as now was to obtain that would provide a thorough understanding of enemy conditions.
The ultimate objective in conquering is to defeat the opponent’s determination – its spirit. The highest form of victory is to conquer by strategy, triumphing over the opponent’s spirit, making the use of weapons unnecessary.
The use of weapons to defeat the physical form ultimately defeats the spirit, but if one can subdue the spirit first, there is no need for labouring in expensive battles.
Knowing this the Chinese and Japanese have created ‘walled cities’ of regulations which prohibit the free flow of American goods into their markets.
When they meet with resistance to this by the American public due to the trade imbalance they have used the strategy of building alliances by starting manufacturing plants in the U.S. and other countries.
In Australia we are seeing a similar strategy being adopted by Asian countries where they are spending vast sums on property purchases and development, education and other vital infrastructure such as ports.
President Trump is currently involved in a ‘trade war’ with China that threatens economies throughout the world and has just sacked his third advisor on strategic policy, John Bolton.
Stephen Collinson: senior analytical writer for CNN news 12 September 2019 wrote;
Like everyone else in Trump’s dysfunctional foreign policy team, Bolton wore out his welcome, standing in the way of his boss’ impetuous instincts and seeking a share of the spotlight.
Only in the bizarre Trump orbit could the exit of a national security adviser seen as an ideologue and aggressive hawk also be perceived in some ways as the removal of a stabilizing force. But he did have a view of American interests and the use of US power that while hardline was predictable and logical and positioned within the historic boundaries of US diplomacy.
With him gone, Trump may have more leeway to indulge his more dovish instincts, which rarely match big talk with action. And US diplomacy is likely to reflect its principal author even more closely. It will be more impulsive, less strategic and more geared to creating iconic moments, like the President’s stroll into North Korea with Kim Jong Un.
Perhaps ‘POTUS’ should involve himself in a little study before sacking his advisers (see Strategy 3. In the Spring and Summer Annals ( 770 – 476 B.C.) King Zhang’s clever plan to conquer Kuei.)
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