Axios: Threatening Washington… China is on its way to dominating biotechnology
After two years of research and debate, the US National Commission on Security on Emerging Biotechnology submitted a report to Congress in April, concluding that Beijing is on its way to dominating this vital field, posing a significant threat to Washington.
Biotechnology promises solutions such as advanced body armor, dynamic camouflage, food made in trenches, super soldiers, bacteria capable of detecting landmines, and sabotage materials shipped to the enemy.
The report noted that “China is advancing rapidly after making biotechnology a national priority 20 years ago,” noting that “the United States must correct course within just three years”.
He added that China’s advances are driven by what is known as military-civilian fusion, however, the United States shouldn’t attempt to compete with China in its own way, as that is a losing strategy.
The committee’s report also noted that “opportunities for international cooperation already exist, particularly through NATO’s DIANA Innovation Accelerator”.
The report recommended that Washington allocate at least $15 billion over the next five years to accelerate the growth of this sector, stressing that “Congress must require the Department of Defense to integrate military-related biotechnology into simulation training and war games”.
Senator Todd Young, a veteran of the US Marine Corps, said that “US leadership should consider biotechnology as an independent domain of warfare”.
“Imagine if, on the battlefield, we could produce shelf-stable blood using biotechnology, enabling us to take advantage of the golden hour to save the lives of wounded soldiers under stress,” Young told Axios.
He continued, “Imagine a world in which we can develop new explosives through biological means, giving us greater propulsion and extending the range of our current missile systems,” adding, “this would, of course, change all calculations of war”.
The United States suffers from a lack of domestic industrial capacity, and bringing innovations from the lab to the market is a costly and complex process, which alienates investors who are increasingly risk-averse.
“Just as the industrial age was, just as the information age was, we are now in the age of biotechnology… Most people don’t realize it,” Commissioner Paul Arcangeli, former chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said in an interview.
He pointed out that “ten years from now, people will be surprised by what biotechnology can offer them”.
