US confronts China on cyber attacks

WASHINGTON, USA: The US has confronted China on the alleged spate of Internet attacks and censorship of Google's network in China.

State Department spokesman Phillip J. Crowley Friday said: "We have had multiple conversations with Chinese officials on this issue, and that included a direct conversation between Secretary (Hillary) Clinton and Foreign Minister Yang (Jiechi) in London late last month.

"So I think we have satisfied ourselves that the Chinese understand the importance with which we view this issue," he said.

The US has called on China to conduct a thorough review of cyber intrusions. "And they are obviously in the best position to evaluate what has and continues to occur within their borders.

"I think we have done what we set out to do, which is to directly express our concerns at high levels about this activity and to encourage China to investigate it thoroughly," Crowley said.

Meanwhile, the Chinese military experts on Friday dismissed the reports which pointed to its involvement in cyber attacks on Internet search giant Google.

According to China Daily, Major General Luo Yuan of the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences said that allegations linking the attacks with the Chinese government and military were irresponsible.

"China has on many occasions reiterated that it opposes hackings of any form and such activities are strictly prohibited by law. Its military would not go against the rules," added Luo.

"People can easily take advantage of a location, they use it as their disguise and divert attention elsewhere, to a supposedly more apparent direction," he was quoted as saying by the 'China Daily'.

Earlier a media report had linked two Chinese educational institutions - Lanxiang Vocational School based in Jinan in Shandong province and Shanghai Jiaotong University - to the online attacks that also targeted American corporations.

(With inputs from IANS)