On Tuesday, the British spy chief issued a stark warning over China.
Speaking at a London think tank, Richard Moore observed, “Adapting to a world affected by the rise of China is the single greatest priority for MI6.” He added that “the Chinese Communist Party leadership increasingly favor bold and decisive action justified on national security grounds.”
Known officially as the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 is Britain’s foreign intelligence service and CIA equivalent. The agency is responsible for recruiting and “running” agents inside foreign governments, terrorist groups, and economic entities of interest to the British government.
Moore took over MI6 a year ago after a career in counterterrorism and diplomacy. Moore’s comments represent a notable shift from MI6’s former stance toward China.
Until now, and especially under Prime Minister David Cameron (2010-2016), Britain was reluctant to identify China as anything other than an economic partner. To a degree, this impulse has been sustained. While Prime Minister Boris Johnson has boosted defense spending, to U.S. disappointment, he and the Royal Navy have been cautious to avoid aggravating China. Johnson has also sold critical infrastructure to Beijing. Still, Moore’s speech indicates that the British security establishment has shifted.
Moore observed that Britain had a need for continued cooperation with China on matters such as trade and climate change. But he was equally clear about the less pleasant side of the ledger. “The Chinese Intelligence Services are highly capable and continue to conduct large-scale espionage operations against the U.K. and our allies.” Moore continued, “This includes targeting those working in government, industries, or on research of particular interest to the Chinese state. They also monitor and attempt to exercise undue influence over the Chinese diaspora.”
He lamented the Chinese Communist Party’s human rights abuses in Hong Kong and against the Uyghur peoples of Xinjiang province. And Moore outlined why China’s effort to replace the U.S.-led liberal international order is not in favor of poorer nations: “We want other countries to be clear-eyed about the debt traps, data exposure, and vulnerability to political coercion that arise from dependency on relationships where there is no recourse to an independent judiciary or free press.”
This debt trap idea is a rising concern, especially in Africa, where China has used extortionate loans to attain political and economic control over the strategic assets of other nations. For one example, Uganda is currently locked in a struggle with China that might see the former lose control of its only international airport.
How does China’s primary threat affect MI6’s keystone mission of agent recruitment?
Moore says it forces MI6 to match traditional tradecraft (targeting, recruiting, and running agents while avoiding surveillance teams and capabilities) in tandem with its mastery of a new era in artificial intelligence. MI6, Moore said, “requires insights from data, the tools to manipulate data, and, most important, the talent to turn complex data into human insight. Our officers need to operate invisibly to our adversaries. And we need to be able to run our agent and technical operations in an environment in which ‘Made in China’ surveillance technology is found around the world.”
A major advantage for MI6 here is its signal intelligence partner GCHQ, which has an exceptionally close, often symbiotic relationship with its U.S. equivalent, the NSA. This allows Britain access to a scale and measure of technical capability that would otherwise be impossible.
Regardless, Moore’s words will be welcomed in Washington. America’s closest ally is getting more serious about America’s greatest adversary.
