A US Senate report has criticized partnerships between military academies in Romania and other NATO countries with Chinese educational institutions, saying Beijing is seeking to undermine democracy and get a foothold in Western states to carry out its state policy.
The 41-page report which highlights the risk of Chinese interference in NATO countries listed the „Nicolae Bălcescu” Land Forces Academy in Sibiu, which the committee said had an official cooperation agreement with the PLA University of Engineering in Nanjing.
Collaborations
The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s report also cited other similar collaborations such as the PLA University of Engineering which has agreements with the UK’s Sandhurst Royal Military Academy and the U.S. Military Academy (West Point). Sandhurst has also trained Chinese military recruits.
Separately, China has “aggressively” sought to recruit former U.S. and NATO military pilots to gain intelligence on Western training and tactics with the aim of training Chinese pilots of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force, resulting in intelligence risks, the document said.
The report which is entitled “Next steps to defend the Transatlantic Alliance from Chinese aggression”, was drafted by Republican Senator James E. Risch of Idaho.
“It is imperative both sides of the Atlantic commit to work more closely together to confront China’s behavior. My report examines two significant problems that require this kind of collaboration – the threat China poses to NATO and China’s use of subnational engagement to undermine national security,” Risch said.
“In order to be successful, all partners must be dedicated and set aside politically expedient but unconstructive spats that distract from the greater shared challenge. I am optimistic we can do it.”
Disturbing
In a case described as „disturbing,” the report claimed that a Chinese police station in Dobroești, Romania, was operating based on an official memorandum with the city’s police department.
According to captura.ro, a memorandum was drafted in March 2016, in Dobroesti, a village close to a Chinese commercial center between the Dobroesti police and the police department of Nantong, a Chinese city with over seven million inhabitants.
The bulk of the Chinese community in Romania works in Dobroesti, and China Town was built there around the Red Dragon shopping complex. Romania’s interior ministry denied an agreement existed and the police station said promises of equipment and police vehicles never materialized and the memorandum was never extended.
Report
“By engaging with politicians, officials, and constituencies at the state and local level, China promotes its preferred narratives and builds relationships that can be utilized to undermine national-level policies and influence public opinion,” the report said.
“Chinese operatives also embed themselves in local communities by establishing illegal overseas police stations and partnerships with local governments, which are used as platforms to carry out transnational repression.”
„Chinese police officers were officially invited to Serbia, Croatia, and Hungary to conduct joint patrols with local law enforcement under the pretext of supporting the local Chinese-speaking population and tourists. Italy also hosted Chinese police officers but has since ended the program,” the report said.
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