Lebanon communication tool blasts: A blow to globalization and trust

Editor's note: Wang Jin, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is a research fellow at the Charhar Institute. The article reflects the author's opinion and not necessarily the views of CGTN or the Charhar Institute.

The massive explosion of pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon was clearly a deliberate attack by a third party. The communication tools attacks have not only increased tension between Israel and Lebanon, but also shaken the confidence and stability of the world economic cooperation.

The means by which the attack took place are, at this point in time, open to two interpretations. One is that the attack was carried out by a third party by transmitting signals in a specific band into Lebanon, which caused the batteries in the pagers and walkie-talkies to spontaneously combust, ultimately resulting in the killing and wounding of the carriers. The other interpretation is that the attack was carried out by intelligence agents who planted tiny bombs inside those walkie-talkies and pagers in advance and detonated them remotely. The latter explanation is more likely in the light of information currently being compiled by various medias.

Judging from the statements of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah and the Lebanese government, it could be very likely that the bombing was planned and carried out by Israel. Hence, Hezbollah is expected to retaliate on a large scale. However, because the bombing incidents have caused casualties and injuries among the grassroots of Hezbollah, the group may struggle to mobilize its members in the short term, and large-scale retaliatory activities would be delayed. Despite that, thousands of injuries caused by the blasts suggest larger-scale military actions by Hezbollah against Israel are inevitable, and the tensions between the two parties are escalating.

Over the past few months, public opinions inside Israel have focused on the growing threat from Lebanon. At the same time, Israel has begun war preparations, and a large-scale military attack against Hezbollah seems highly likely. With the latest explosions, the countdown to a large-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah may have begun.

The massive explosions of communication devices in Lebanon have brought device security back into the limelight. Traditionally, people may have thought pagers and walkie-talkies are harder to track and intercept by intelligence agencies than mobile phones. However, the large-scale explosions of communication devices in Lebanon have cast doubts about their security, disrupting the daily and economic activities of the Lebanese population.

Under the surface, these explosions have forced countries to evaluate the security of communication tools, be it pagers, walkie-talkies, smartphones or computers. From the day one these tools were invented, they were designed to transmit information, facilitating and reducing the costs of people's daily communication, rather than for espionage or warfare.

Yet, in recent years, their use for military and political purposes have gradually grown obvious. Reports indicated that some institutions close to the United States, including the American University of Beirut, had withdrawn their pagers in advance for "system upgrades" about a month before the bombing. Although these reports were later clarified as false by the American University of Beirut, they raised concerns about the role of the United States. For instance, some Western countries are constantly eavesdropping on foreign leaders and even their citizens for their political interests. Surveillance programs and backdoor devices have been installed in communication devices to satisfy some nations hegemonic needs.

In a globalized world, safeguarding communication tools are essential. The production, sale and transport of the tools involve multiple countries and industries. The explosions have sent a warning to our highly connected world, shaken confidence in global trade and undermined the global supply chain.  

With the growing mistrust between nations, political tensions will increase, sabotaging international cooperation in areas like manufacturing, distribution and transportation.

As the foundation of international collaboration, trust have been eroded by the blasts and the eavesdropping. As countries begin to evaluate the risks of current global supply chain, the costs for international cooperation would soar, and trust between states be damaged.

In the end, no country would feel secure in the interconnected world absent of trust.

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