Norway’s domestic intelligence service warned that Chinese investment in businesses and properties in the High North may form part of the Communist nation’s espionage and influence efforts focused on the Arctic region.
(Bloomberg) — Norway’s domestic intelligence service warned that Chinese investment in businesses and properties in the High North may form part of the Communist nation’s espionage and influence efforts focused on the Arctic region.
Comments from Norway, a NATO member state that shares a border with Russia, reflect growing concern across the Nordic region about China’s influence. Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin late last year warned of Europe’s technological dependency on China, while Danish intelligence agencies have pointed to China’s growing operations in the Arctic.
China will “try to purchase or establish businesses on strategically located properties in the High North,” Norway’s domestic intelligence and security service said in its annual risk assessment published on Monday. Such activities, while “not necessarily illegal,” may seek the same goals as unlawful activities, such as gaining access to sensitive technology, it said.
It also highlighted vulnerabilities linked the Nordic country’s upcoming chairmanship of the Arctic Council, due to start next month.
Meetings of the Arctic Council, an eight-country intergovernmental group that includes the US and current chair Russia, have been suspended since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine last February. China, which has an observer status at the council, sees the Arctic region as a transport route to Europe — a “Polar Silk Road.”
“A stronger Chinese presence in the High North could challenge Norwegian security interests by facilitating intelligence operations and creating economic dependence that is vulnerable to exploitation,” the Norwegian agency said. “Strategies and processes related to the High North are among the most vulnerable intelligence targets in Norwegian politics,” it said.
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