Today, a direct war is taking place in the information space, which inevitably affects Lithuania. From a military point of view, information operations are a function designed to coordinate information actions in order to prepare against desire, understanding and opportunity.

These measures affect all people directly and indirectly. However, the biggest and most powerful information war on the world stage is currently being waged not by Russia but by China. Former officers of the United States (USA) and Lithuanian special forces Michael Yon and Aurimas Navy confirm that they have spoken on the Patrol Base website.

China Information War

Jonas, who has served in the U.S. Special Forces and is now a military journalist, claims that China’s information war is the most powerful in the world.

“China’s information war is currently the most powerful in the world. It’s just unbelievable, the more I learned about it, the more I understand that it is all-encompassing, “said Jonas.

According to him, having a good information operations department can force a country to collapse or go to war.

“One operation I’ve been writing about since 2014 is called Women of Consolation. (…) It relates to sex slavery committed by Japan during World War II. This information operation is designed to divide Japan, South Korea and the United States into that defense triangle. (…) To announce once in 2014-2016 when this information operation is powerful and is likely to end with the sooner or later disintegration of relations between Korea and Japan. That is what happened in 2019, ”the interlocutor wants.

In 2019, a court ruling in South Korea forced some Japanese corporations to pay reparations for a World War II crime. This information operation has led to diplomatic tensions between the two Asian countries to date.

“It simply came to our notice then. “If you want to reach the United States, deal with the defensive triangle is very important, because Japan is a close ally in the Pacific region,” said the expert.

Confucius Institutes – Spy Rages

According to John, Beijing is able to perfectly disguise information operations. Various tools, which are invisible at first glance, can be used for this purpose.

“The Confucius Center (…) is essentially the KGB of the Chinese Communist Party. “It’s a spy factory,” he said.

The interlocutor said that the institute offered scholarships to study in China, and later these individuals may be tried to recruit.

“When they arrive, they offer a sum of money, for example 150 thousand. euros or better. The institute also promises two or three free lecturers at the university and courses in Mandarin and Chinese history, ”says Jonas about another measure used by the institute.

These information operations are carried out in order to spread the narrative formed by China, as many times in a wider space.

Information operations carried out by Moscow

A. Navys, a former official of the Lithuanian Special Forces and a defense expert, states that Russia wants to defend the Russian world, then it has been living for some time now, as if it were a regime of constant war.

“Russia has realized that we are not living in peace, but in a war regime. If Russia wants to defend the Russian world, it must build its information operations and, more, its psychological operations capabilities. Later implement them as strategies or policies or actions against their neighbors. In this case, it is the former Soviet republics, “said A. Navys.

According to the expert, these measures must be applied every day in order to learn from mistakes and to check their effectiveness. Wants to apply to arousing strong feelings, such as: hatred and fear.

“The first operation carried out by the Russians was in 2013 in the Crimea. Tourists who came to the peninsula at that time aroused discord among the locals, “he added.

According to Navio, tourists from Russia spread liars that Crimean Russians are forbidden to use their language.

“It was complete nonsense, but the information spread so widely,” the guest of the show said.

Creating a narrative

According to A. Navio, one of the main aspects of Russian information operations is the new or distorted historical creation of the narrative.

“The Kremlin is constantly trying to rewrite our information. It is said that Lithuania has never had a kingdom, did not have sovereignty, went to the same religion, a similar culture, values, sports teams were released, ”said the expert.

According to him, 30-40 years ago the opinion prevailed in Western Europe and the USA that the Baltic countries are Russia.

“We thought we were changed Russians, but we’re just pretending we’re not,” he added.

Russia is currently focusing on the Baltic states, especially on controversial issues in the public sphere. For example – the guerrilla war in Lithuania.

“It is being used to spread the false message that all Lithuanian partisans were Jewish murderers or Nazi collaborators,” Navys said.

Differences between Russian and Chinese operations

According to the interlocutors, the similarities and gaps between the information operations carried out by Moscow and Beijing.

“They (China and Russia ed.) Follow the same principles, according to religion or cult. (…) I think the Russian and Chinese information operations departments trained together. Maybe indirectly, but it is obvious that they organize military exercises together, “said A. Navys.

Mr John said there was a difference between Chinese and Russian information operations. With significantly more opportunities, Beijing is active almost everywhere: in the film and theater industry, in book publishing, in the public space.

“The Chinese have more money, so they’re practically in control of Hollywood right now,” the defense expert said.

According to him, before World War II, one of the biggest markets for Hollywood films was Nazi Germany. As a result, the U.S. film industry has made considerable efforts to please the regime.

“Nazis in Hollywood have censors like Beijing today,” he needs.

The guest of the show said that a significant number of American actors and even NBA players are currently in “China’s pocket”.

How to resist?

Mr John insists that one example of the fight against operations is to make people aware of the need to verify information.

“It simply came to our notice then that this game is all-encompassing. Can be assured that even Wikipedia in political articles, your enemy sows his information, ”he said.

According to him, false information is often shared in a place where wider masses of people can be easily reached.

“It simply came to our notice then. It’s a 24-hour process, “he said.

According to A. Navio, the most effective ways of resistance are: creating one’s own narrative, knowledge of history and execution of countermeasures.

“It is unfortunate that NATO is losing this fight. If we look at the NATO target, it is only the Russian army. To use counter-propaganda tools effectively, you first need to create a narrative in your country about how strong you are and the like. Then apply these measures to the local population of Russia, “said the expert.

“You don’t want those people to want to go to war with you,” Navys added.