214: Sovereignty Is a Simulation

What the Chinese hack of Russia reveals about the myths modern states still tell themselves

Jul 07, 2025

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Sovereignty is one of the most powerful fictions in modern politics. It implies control. Borders. Self-rule. The ability to say no.

But the world today is structured to render sovereignty obsolete. It’s the outcome of design: technological, economic, and strategic.

China hacked Russia’s war machine

In June, cybersecurity analysts confirmed that China has been systematically breaching Russia’s military and defense systems. Despite public declarations of a “no-limits partnership,” Chinese intelligence services infiltrated Russian networks to extract information about battlefield strategy, drone use, and nuclear submarine capabilities.

Russia’s own FSB labeled China an “enemy” in a leaked internal memo. But nothing official was said. There were no expulsions. No retaliation. No press conference.

Russia couldn’t act—because it’s dependent. On Chinese credit, drones, and diplomatic cover. Its sovereignty is not real. It’s conditional.

At the same time, Canada’s telecom networks were quietly compromised by long-dormant Chinese surveillance malware. Cisco-made routers were manipulated to enable traffic collection and analysis, similar to hacks that targeted US telecoms.

The U.S. responded—not by offering help, but by issuing thinly veiled threats: decouple from China, or face consequences. Washington wants loyalty. But Washington also buys lithium batteries, critical minerals, and electronics—from China.

The U.S. depends on China to fight China

This is the paradox at the heart of the American war machine: it cannot function without the very nation it sees as its primary threat.

More than 70% of U.S. weapons systems rely on Chinese components. Rare earths, semiconductors, battery-grade graphite. Even the F‑35 fighter jet requires materials refined in China.

Efforts to decouple are under way, but progress is slow. The defense supply chain remains deeply entangled.

The question is simple: Can you be sovereign if your military logistics depend on your rival?

All three of these situations—China hacking Russia, surveilling Canada, supplying the U.S.—share a common thread: sovereignty no longer functions as a meaningful concept in a networked, interdependent world.

It’s not just about espionage. It’s about design. The global infrastructure of power—supply chains, cloud platforms, telecom backbones—is built for control, not autonomy.

Sovereignty used to mean the capacity to act without external interference. Today, it’s a performance. A myth. A holdover from a pre-network age.

What replaces sovereignty? Not empire, exactly—but something stranger.

We live in a world governed by:

Dependencies: technical, economic, and institutional.
Interference: from friends and rivals alike.
Obfuscation: where the real power lies in who can see, exploit, or deny the truth of the system.

China’s cyber-espionage doesn’t just expose secrets—it exposes the illusion of control. Canada, Russia, and the U.S. all claim to be sovereign. None are.