Advanced Technologies and National Security

China's technological presence in the Middle East is expanding – and its integration into the regional cloud market is just one of many examples. What challenges do these steps pose for Israel?

Intercepting missiles and rockets at the earliest stage of their launch is an offensive action with a distinctly defensive character. Its goal is to prevent direct or collateral damage in the attacked state while inflicting maximum harm on the aggressor. For Israel, this interception method has a compounded advantage due to its small size, the threats posed by Iran and its proxies in both the near and far “ring of fire,” and the high potential for damage from strikes on civilian and military infrastructure. This article reviews the challenges and technological developments in missile and rocket interception, relevant geopolitical aspects, and lessons for the State of Israel.

How strong and effective is the Chinese artificial intelligence model—and what conclusions should be drawn in Israel?

The Chinese government recently announced that rare minerals are a national asset, and that organizations and individuals are prohibited from taking control of such resources. The announcement was accompanied by the introduction of a program to track and control all the rare mineral resources at China’s disposal, including their production, processing and export. The announcement links to the fact that the Chinese regime, which is striving for political and financial dominance largely because of its internal needs but also due to its global vision, has identified the decisive importance of the market for metals and minerals—including nickel, copper, cobalt, magnesium, rare earths metals and rare ores and as well as others —for both the Chinese and the global economy, and as an engine of growth in the twenty-first century. The importance of minerals, including rare earth elements, lies primarily in their uses for green energy, the electric vehicle industry, electronic products, medicine, lasers, optical fibers, magnets in the motor industry, various aspects of the security industry, and the global microchip industry. These minerals are the building blocks for all branches of modern industry, and therefore control of their chain of supply is essential for the economic development of China itself, as well as a means to position China as an important player in the global economy, with considerable capabilities that can be leveraged for political influence. Over the past thirty years, China has made huge investments in mines and plants that process and refine critical minerals in Africa, and in some markets it has absolute dominance, up to 90 percent in the case of certain products. This fact has economic and political implications, particularly for China’s relations with the United States, and with countries in Africa, Europe, Asia and Southeast Asia. Israel’s knowledge-intensive industries (hi-tech) and its security industry must limit their exposure to the risk of a global shortage or political or economic restrictions on the imports of special critical minerals, by developing confidential contacts and partnerships in countries with the relevant natural resources in Europe and in Africa.