MI6 chief warns of China rise
THE chief of MI6 yesterday talked of the likely dominance by China of emerging technologies, warning: “The future of knowledge is in play.”
In a rare public appearance, Alex Younger – known as “C” – said the global balance was tilting toward China.
“Basically, power, money and politics is going east,” he said. “That’s a new political reality we need to adjust to.” Mr Younger said he had been struck by President Xi Jinping’s “made in China” ambitions and that Beijing could within decades dominate all of the key emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, synthetic biology and genetics.
“This is something we really need to think about,” Mr Younger said. “The future of knowledge is in play.” The speech – only his second since his appointment in 2014 – was delivered to students at his former university, St Andrews.
Mr Younger, 55, who joined MI6 after serving in the British Army, took the opportunity to warn Russia not to “underestimate” Britain’s determination or capabilities.
He said Russia and other enemies regard themselves “as being in a state of perpetual confrontation” with the UK.
Adversaries are willing to exploit ambiguity and to take advantage of the blurred line between the cyber and physical worlds, probing UK defences in ways that fall short of traditional warfare, he said.
Still high on Britain’s list of enemies is Islamic State, which has carried out or inspired several murderous attacks in Britain and Europe.
But Mr Younger said Britain’s spies have thwarted several IS plots originating overseas – and also helped France and Germany prevent terrorist attacks.
MI6 officers use local agents to infiltrate enemy organisations and gather life-saving intelligence.
But Mr Younger told his audience he would not hide the fact some MI6 agents “have paid the ultimate price”. He said: “Our country and our allies owe them a debt they can never truly know and never fully repay.”
And appealing to the nation’s youth, he said: “It doesn’t matter where you are from.
“If you want to make a difference and you think you might have what it takes, then the chances are that you do have what it takes, and we hope you will step forward.”
‘Power, money and politics are going east’