Top Army general in warning on China
THE head of the Armed Forces yesterday claimed it was “premature” to call China a “threat”, despite fears it was waging “authoritarian political warfare”.
But General Sir Nick Carter did warn that China, Russia, Iran and North Korea all operate in an era of “constant conflict”.
His intervention came as Tory MPs yesterday ramped up pressure on Boris Johnson to ban Huawei from Britain’s 5G network.
Beijing was yesterday accused of trying to influence top UK figures in politics, business and academia.
A dossier, compiled by former spy Christopher Steele, also claimed China was using Huawei to “undermine the Five Eyes intelligence alliance” – with the US, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
Sir Nick, Chief of the Defence Staff, told the Commons Defence Select Committee yesterday that our adversaries ramped up their cyber weapons, missile systems and submarine capabilities as we fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He said: “At the moment it is premature to describe it as a threat, it is a challenge.
“We see a more assertive Russian threat and we see the challenge of China very vividly. Then there are others, such as Iran or North Korea, who cause us to challenge what is happening.The threat from radical extremism isn’t going anywhere.
“In fact, in some parts of the world, it is growing.
“Our opponents practise what I would call ‘authoritarian political warfare’. For them, the strategic landscape is characterised by continuous and neverending struggle that encompasses everything from what we would call peace to nuclear war. Hence, this era of constant competition, and perhaps arguably, constant conflict.”
Tory MP Alicia Kearns, of the China Research Group, said: “When I speak to my colleagues, none of us want to enter into an era of frozen relations with China.” But fellow Tory MP Neil O’Brien, also a member of the group, said: “I think we shouldn’t kid ourselves about the abilities of the Chinese government.
“It’s incredibly able to conduct industrial espionage and find out things it wants. It’s managed to steal industrial secrets, even in very sensitive areas like defence technology.”
Chinese telecoms giant Huawei called the claims against the company “unfounded” and said they were part of a “long-running US campaign”.