It is no longer a secret that the Chinese military has been quite busy over the past few years in implementing new and advanced technologies as part of its upgrade program. A recently published Australian report revealed that the Chinese military is also expanding its collaboration with various universities around the globe as part of its effort to further advance its military capabilities.
According to the report published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, the Chinese People's Liber Army has managed to send at least 2,500 military scientists, engineers, and researchers to several top universities and research institutions in the world. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute is a non-partisan research institution based in the Australian capital city of Canberra.
The report also revealed that while these Chinese scientists and academics are spread around institutions spanning the globe, they are especially concentrated in the Western hemisphere. Countries like Canada, United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand are among those with the highest concentration of contingents.
Scientific papers that were peer-reviewed jointly by Chinese academics and their Western counterparts have also increased. The report revealed that only 734 papers were jointly reviewed in 2017. That is a remarkable increase compared to just 95 in 2007.
Among the most sought-after areas of research that these Chinese academics and scientists looking for are cryptography, quantum physics, and navigation technology. These are vital areas when it comes to strategic military applications.
The Nanyang Technological University in Singapore tops the list of institutions with the most published paper that was co-authored by Chinese academics and scientists. Second on the list is the University of New South Wales in Australia. The third is the University of Southampton in England, and fourth in the list is the University of Waterloo in Canada.
In terms of collaboration with American research institutions, three were included in the list. These are Georgia Tech, the Illinois Institute of Technology, and the United States Naval Academy.
China, aside from sending its scientists and academics to these universities, is also funneling huge amounts of money to fund various researches and projects. One of such partnership is the Torch Innovation Project which supports science and technology researches. It is based at the University of New South Wales. Recent data revealed that the university received more than $71 million in Chinese investments.
In a statement to the New York Times, University of New South Wales President Ian Jacobs defended the university's current collaborations with various Chinese institutions. He added that it is part of the university's duty to engage in global researches.
