Ready for your TPM intelligence briefing? Excellent.
The news today is that Chinese intelligence found a couple dozen bugs on an American-manufactured 
airplane which was to serve as Chinese President Jiang Zemin’s equivalent of Air Force One. Given where the plane was manufactured and refitted, the origin of the listening devices – which were apparently highly sophisticated – seemed rather obvious.
Jiang was furious at the findings, according to the Financial Times.
But this story isn’t exactly what it appears.
Look closely at when the bugs were allegedly found: last Fall. So this isn’t really news. The fact that Chinese officials went to the press is news. And the reason is fairly straightforward and self-explanatory. President Bush is making a major trip to China late next month. And much rides on it for both sides — which we’ll be saying more about soon.
This is an effort on the part of the Chinese to throw the US side off-balance in the lead-up to the summit. It’s a Chinese attempt to get the upper hand on the US by making it seem that an apology is required or that Beijing is being generous by not demanding one. It’s standard operating procedure from the PRC.
So are the bugs really American? Who knows? I’d certainly assume so. But this doesn’t have anything to do with spying. It’s pure international politics.
