US out to maintain cyber hegemony

It's time the pot stopped calling the kettle black, that is, the United States stopped accusing China of cyber-espionage. New revelations from former National Security Agency operative Edward Snowden's leaked documents show hackers from New Zealand and the US hatched plot to spy on China by hacking into a data link between Chinese consulate buildings in Auckland.

If true, the espionage plan adds to the US' massive global surveillance, which Snowden exposed in 2013, and shows that Washington has continued not only to spy on Beijing and Moscow, but also on its close European allies.

Yet the US has never let an occasion go without accusing China of cyber-spying. Last week, cyber security company FireEye said the Chinese government "supports" a hacker group "APT30" to spy on neighboring countries for a decade. Apparently, FireEye's aim is to drive a wedge between China and its neighbors at a time when Beijing is rallying support for vital economic moves like the "Belt and Road Initiatives" and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, as well as make noises ahead of the Asian-African Summit this week.