The U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel accused the Chinese government of "cyber intrusions" at an annual security conference in Singapore Saturday, which was also attended by a high-level Chinese military delegation.
While expressing concern over the cyber attacks in recent months, the defense secretary said that some of the cyber intrusions were linked with the Chinese communist government.
Hagel had earlier said that he would raise the cyber issue with the Chinese delegation at the side lines of the conference but the U.S. secretary raised the issue while addressing the conference, according to BBC News.
"Cyber threats are real, they're terribly dangerous," the secretary earlier told reporters on his plane en route to the conference.
"They're probably as insidious and real a threat (as there is) to the United States, as well as China, by the way, and every nation," Hagel said. "Cyber conflict could lead to quiet, stealthy, insidious and dangerous outcomes."
"That's not a unique threat to the United States, (it affects) everybody, so we've got to find ways here ... working with the Chinese, working with everybody, (to develop) rules of the road, some international understandings, some responsibility that governments have to take," said the U.S. defense secretary.
China and the U.S. have been embroiled in a war of words over the cyber security issues for the last few months.
Earlier this week, a Pentagon report obtained by the Washington Post stated that Chinese hackers penetrated over a dozen of U.S. advanced weapons programs.
"China is using its computer network exploitation capability to support intelligence collection against the US diplomatic, economic, and defence industrial base sectors," said the report.
However, China immediately denied the accusations saying China itself was "a victim of foreign cyber attacks."
"First they underestimate the security defense capabilities of the Pentagon, and second they underestimate the intelligence of the Chinese people," said Geng Yansheng, the Chinese national defense spokesman in a statement.
"China is fully capable of building the weapons and equipment needed to defend national security," added Geng Yansheng.
