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

Merely days after four individuals were arrested in Germany two more individuals suspected to be spies for China have been arrested in UKs 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 deeprooted problem Nikkei Asia reportedThe 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 Britains policy against China Another such individual arrested in Germany was an aide to a member of Europes parliament belonging to a farright political party that has been gaining traction in the countryHence claims of Chinese espionage have dogged Europe in recent years from the UK to Germany the Netherlands and Belgium the heart of the European Union Some of these operators have reached into high officesNotably 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 Germanys 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 claimedHowever 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 Chinas economic power so its a hard oneAnother expert on the matter Erich SchmidtEenboom 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 growingThe Dutch intelligence agency AIVD on Tuesday identified China as one of the biggest cyber threats against the Netherlands Norways 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 UK alone Chinese agents had approached over 20000 people to try to get them to provide information through networking platforms like LinkedIn the Nikkei Asia report claimedSome reports suggest that by reaching into the political technological educational and diaspora China is attempting to manipulate Europes 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 divideandconquer strategy said retired US senior intelligence officer Nicholas Eftimiades who is also a fellow at the Atlantic Council a US think tankAccording to the Nikkei Asia report Matthew Brazil coauthor of Chinese Communist Espionage An Intelligence Primer said that for Beijing Its now more important than it was 10 years ago to know what China policies are being debated in the UK and in the EU countriesIt would be bad enough having the US and Asian countries objecting to Chinas moves around Taiwan and in the South China Sea without getting NATO involved too said Brazil who is also a fellow at the Washingtonbased Jamestown Foundation a conservative think tankPreviously 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 Chinas 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 claimedAccording to the Nikkei Asia report Christian Schmidkonz a professor of AsiaPacific 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 themThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever