Although NATO is halfway around the world from China, its growing presence in the Indo-Pacific has frustrated Beijing—and apparently led to greater espionage efforts.

A Canadian citizen serving as an intern at NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Mons, Belgium, was arrested after being accused of spying for an undisclosed non-alliance country and for belonging to a criminal organization.

The individual, a woman who was not named but is originally from China, was arrested on Friday after authorities searched her home and workplace.

SHAPE serves as NATO’s military command center and is where operations are planned and conducted for the 32-member international alliance.

It is unclear how the investigation began or how officials were tipped off. Still, SHAPE’s security services alerted Belgian intelligence officials of their suspensions, which led to the searches and her subsequent arrest.

“Following a number of investigative tasks, an operation was carried out on Thursday 23, July, by the Charleroi FJP. Searches were carried out at the suspect’s home and at her place of work, at SHAPE,” read the Belgian federal prosecutor’s statement.

The Canadian government is cooperating in the investigation.  

“As the matter remains under investigation, we are not in a position to comment on specifics at this time,” Public Safety Canada said in an email to Canadian public broadcaster CBC News on Saturday. “Canadians can be assured that all Government of Canada law enforcement and intelligence agencies maintain strong relationships with partner agencies that assist in addressing threat-related activity like those described in relation to the arrest made in Belgium on Thursday.”

Despite Geographical Distance, China Is Suspicious of NATO

China is halfway around the world from Brussels, and the European members of NATO have little presence in Asia, generally leaving the business of ensuring a “free and open Indo-Pacific” to the United States and its regional non-NATO allies. Still, Beijing views the alliance as a source of strength for the United States, and has periodically attacked it as a cause of instability—notably parroting the Russian line on NATO expansion as a primary cause of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

China and NATO have crossed paths before. At the start of the Cold War, China fought against UN and US-led forces in Korea, many of which were NATO members, during the Cold War. Chinese propaganda described NATO as a tool of US imperialism, while NATO viewed Beijing as the junior partner in the global communist threat led by Moscow.

The relationship changed after the Sino-Soviet split of the late 1960s. From that time onward, Beijing viewed the USSR as its primary security threat, and even encouraged the Western European nations to strengthen NATO defenses as a way to keep Moscow distracted.

In the 21st century, there has been increased friction, mutual distrust, and strategic competition, driven by Beijing’s realignment with Russia and the alliance’s expansion into Indo-Pacific partnerships. China has strongly condemned NATO’s deepening defense and technology cooperation with regional partners including Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea. To Beijing, this has been a return to Cold War tactics intended to contain Chinese influence in the region.

Western Europe has its own concerns about Chinese behavior—particularly its increasing investment in critical infrastructure, notably in European ports, and its control of rare earth mineral supply chains. NATO leadership has been openly critical of China’s development of dual-use technologies, which have been supplied to Russia as a way to bypass international sanctions related to the war in Ukraine.

These tensions notwithstanding, NATO held its ninth iteration of the “annual NATO-China Military Staff Talks” at NATO HQ in Brussels in March.

“NATO and China maintain regular discussions, through both civilian and military channels, to build reciprocal transparency with a view to safeguard the Alliance’s security interests,” the alliance explained.

Spies Often Target NATO HQ for Intelligence Collection

This is not the first time that a foreign national has been accused of spying at NATO’s HQ. In late 2021, eight Russian “undeclared intelligence officers” were expelled from the Russian mission within the alliance. NATO further reduced the number of accredited positions within the mission, down from 20 to 10.

The mission, which was meant to serve as an official diplomatic link between Moscow and the military alliance, was formed in 1998 following cooperation agreements including the 1997 Founding Act. It allowed Russia to consult with NATO members on security issues, including counter-terrorism, arms control, and, after 2002, transit routes for operations in Afghanistan.

NATO-Russia relations significantly deteriorated after Moscow invaded and annexed Crimea in 2014.

Following the expulsion of its officials and reduced accredited positions, Moscow suspended its permanent mission at NATO on November 1, 2021, and also closed NATO’s liaison and information offices in Moscow. All communication between NATO and Moscow is now conducted through the Russian Embassy in Belgium, which remains open.

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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