Deep-sea fishing vessels return to a wharf of Shidao Port in Rongcheng, east China's Shandong Province, on June 17, 2026. (Xinhua/Yonhap)
Reports drafted by the US House and Senate Armed Services Committees for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2027 call for briefings on the Chinese Communist Party’s “malign influence” in Korea and on how that influence impacts US security and defense interests. This year’s committee reports are the first to request an assessment of the CCP’s influence in Korea.The “items of special interest” in the Senate Armed Services Committee’s NDAA report include a section titled “Assessment of Chinese Communist Party malign influence within the Republic of Korea.”The committee noted that “the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to use hybrid tactics to project its influence outside of China’s borders and to undermine the interests of the United States and its allies” and said that “of particular concern are China’s malign influence efforts in the Republic of Korea.”The committee asks the Secretary of Defense to “provide a briefing to the congressional defense committees” on these matters no later than May 1, 2027. The briefing is supposed to evaluate whether Chinese activities inside Korea have the potential to create “human intelligence and national security risks” to members of US Forces Korea and related facilities and networks through intelligence collection and asset contact and recruitment.The briefing is also supposed to assess whether China’s influence could “negatively impact [. . .] the availability of dual-use commercial goods that are essential to security cooperation between the United States and the Republic of Korea.”Dual-use goods refer to high-tech parts and critical materials that are produced for civilian use but also have military applications.The report prepared by the House Armed Services Committee has a section also titled “Assessment of Chinese Communist Party Malign Influence within the Republic of Korea.” The committee asks the secretary of defense to hold a briefing by Dec. 1 of this year to assess not only intelligence and defense risks (as mentioned in the Senate report), but also “whether the growth of technology firms of the PRC [China] in the Republic of Korea are a defense threat” and “whether measures can be taken by the Republic of Korea to assist the growth of US technology firms and to address any defense threats [. . .] from the PRC that impact the information security” of US troops in Korea.These initiatives coincide with the Pentagon’s recent pressure campaign against Chinese tech firms. Earlier this month, the Pentagon added leading Chinese companies — including Alibaba, Baidu, BYD and CXMT — to a list of “Chinese military companies” operating in the US.The two armed services committees’ request for a briefing by the secretary of defense does not have the binding force of law, but does represent congressional oversight over the Department of Defense.By Kim Won-chul, Washington correspondentPlease direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
