Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - In their first joint appearance on Wednesday, the directors of MI5 and FBI warned of the growing long-ter...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - In their first joint appearance on Wednesday, the directors of MI5 and FBI warned of the growing long-term threat China poses to UK and U.S. interests.
Ken McCallum, the director general of MI5, stated that the agency has already "more than increased its previously-constrained effort against Chinese activity of concern," adding that it is conducting seven times as many inquiries as in 2018.
For the UK, the US, and friends in Europe and beyond, the Chinese government "poses the most long-term threat," according to FBI Director Christopher Wray.
The Chinese government, according to Wray, is trying to change the world by meddling in our politics (and those of our allies, I should add). Beijing, he claimed, interfered with a New York Congressional election directly this year because it did not want a candidate who was a critic and a former Tiananmen Square protester to win.
Wray issued a dire warning, claiming that the Chinese government "is bent on stealing your technology" and "poses an even more significant threat to Western enterprises than even many clever businesspeople realise."
According to Wray, the Chinese government's hacking campaign is "larger than that of any other significant country combined."
According to McCallum, the UK has cooperated with 37 nations over the past year to assist them protect themselves against cyber espionage. In May, the UK also successfully stopped a sophisticated threat that was aimed at vital aerospace companies.
Wray warned that China might attempt to annex Taiwan, which it views as a province, and that if that happened, "it would represent one of the most terrible business upsets the world has ever seen."
I'm sorry to say that McCallum's assertion that increased prosperity in China and closer ties to the West would inevitably result in increased political freedom has been disproved.
In response to a query regarding the remarks made by McCallum and Wray, a representative for the Chinese embassy in the UK stated that "the charges against China by U.S. and UK intelligence officials are utterly without merit and the so-called incidents they listed are simply shadow chasing."
According to the spokesman, China asked both nations to "have a clear knowledge of the trend of the time, discard the Cold War mentality which has long since gone out of date, stop propagating the "China menace," and stop provoking disputes."
Speaking at the MI5 headquarters in Thames House, London, both heads of the security services provided numerous examples of problems related to China while urging the audience, which included academics and businessmen, to exercise caution and cooperate with the FBI and MI5 in order to obtain the necessary intelligence about this threat.
