Two more persons arrested in UK on charges of spying for China

Representation Pic/File

Merely days after four individuals were arrested in Germany, two more individuals suspected to be spies for China have been arrested in UK's London on the charges of spying for China. Commenting on the security scenario, intelligence experts on Sunday suggested that this is just the surface of the deep-rooted problem, Nikkei Asia reported.

The same news report claimed that one of the men charged in London was a parliamentary researcher and had access to several politicians that could have influenced Britain's policy against China. Another such individual arrested in Germany was an aide to a member of Europe's parliament belonging to a far-right political party that has been gaining traction in the country.

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Hence, claims of Chinese espionage have dogged Europe in recent years, from the U.K. to Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium, the heart of the European Union. Some of these operators have reached into high offices.

Notably, these arrests have come to center stage merely days after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had visited Beijing recently for make some deals with the country regarding Germany's agriculture sector. Chinese President Xi Jinping is also due to visit Paris, Budapest, and Belgrade in the coming weeks, pointing to the tricky balance European leaders face, the Nikkei Asia report claimed.

However, the embassies of China in Germany and London have denied all the accusations, calling them an attempt to diminish the international image of China. Quoting the statement of Kenneth Lasoen, professor of intelligence and security at the University of Antwerp the same news report mentioned that "Governments are "in a conundrum" on how to deal with Beijing, If they act really strictly against the Chinese for doing this, then there might be economic consequences based on China's economic power, so it's a hard one."

Another expert on the matter Erich Schmidt-Eenboom mentioned that "It is "extremely serious" and has been intensifying for years. Recent arrests in Germany "should not obscure the fact that we are only dealing with the tip of the iceberg. In addition to the Chinese operations with human sources, the quality of technical reconnaissance by the [Chinese] Ministry of State Security and the military intelligence service is also growing.

The Dutch intelligence agency AIVD on Tuesday identified China as "one of the biggest cyber threats" against the Netherlands. Norway's intelligence service earlier in the year said Chinese intelligence services operate all over the continent in political and industrial espionage, with cyberspace as their main gateway to information. Moreover, The British intelligence chief estimated that in the U.K. alone, Chinese agents had approached over 20,000 people to try to get them to provide information through networking platforms like LinkedIn. the Nikkei Asia report claimed.

Some reports suggest that by reaching into the political, technological, educational, and diaspora. China is attempting to manipulate Europe's political processes via its elected leaders, creating a new world order, which has intended to create for a long time now. "They are attempting to drive a wedge between Europe and the United States, implementing a divide-and-conquer strategy," said retired U.S. senior intelligence officer Nicholas Eftimiades, who is also a fellow at the Atlantic Council, a U.S. think tank.

According to the Nikkei Asia report, Matthew Brazil, co-author of "Chinese Communist Espionage: An Intelligence Primer," said that for Beijing, "It's now more important than it was 10 years ago to know what China policies are being debated in the U.K. and in the EU countries."

It would be "bad enough" having the U.S. and Asian countries objecting to China's moves around Taiwan and in the South China Sea, without getting NATO involved too, said Brazil, who is also a fellow at the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation, a conservative think tank.

Previously a trio arrested in Germany this past week were suspected of trying to sell military technology to Beijing. Despite the arrests and strong words from China -- its embassy in Berlin complained that the espionage allegations were being used to "politically manipulate the image of China and defame China" -- observers say they see little change to the status quo. Europe needs China's business, ultimately, and Beijing needs trade partners and friends in the face of a weak domestic economy and strained relations with the US the report claimed.

According to the Nikkei Asia report, Christian Schmidkonz, a professor of Asia-Pacific business studies at Munich Business School, agreed, saying that because those arrested are not Chinese citizens, Beijing has little need to act: "There is no reason for the Chinese government to stand up for them."

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