China Policy Monitor No. 1600

CHINA AND BELARUS CONDUCT MILITARY EXERCISES ON NATO'S DOORSTEP
Troops from China and Belarus have kicked off 11 days of joint "anti-terrorist exercises" codenamed Eagle Assault about 5 kilometers from the Polish border in Brest. Set to coincide with the July 9-11 NATO summit in Washington, the exercises are focused on "night landing, overcoming water obstacles, and conducting [urban] operations." Belarus's Defense Ministry said: "The NATO grouping on the border with Belarus is growing rapidly, which leads to an increase in tension." At the NATO summit, both Poland and Lithuania raised concerns about border security. "There is a hybrid war ongoing on the Poland-Belarus border, as well as on the Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian borders," Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz laid out. (Politico, July 8, 2024)

[EDITOR'S NOTE: On July 4, Belarus, which provides Russia with logistical support and access to its air bases, became the 10th member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.]

CHINA THE "DECISIVE ENABLER" OF RUSSIA’S WAR ON UKRAINE – NATO
In a joint statement at the Alliance's annual summit in Washington, NATO's 32 leaders accused China of becoming the "decisive enabler" of Russia's war on Ukraine and "increasing the threat Russia poses to its neighbours." They condemned China's "large-scale support for Russia's defence industrial base" and demanded that Beijing "cease all material and political support to Russia's war effort." In response, the PRC Foreign Ministry accused NATO of promulgating a "biased, slanderous, and provocative" smear campaign and demanded that the "relic of the cold war" stay out of Asia. "Without any evidence, NATO continues to spread falsehoods fabricated by the U.S., openly smearing China, sowing discord between China and Europe, and undermining China-European co-operation," the Chinese statement read. (Financial Times, July 11, 2024)

GERMANY BANS CHINESE TELECOM GIANTS FROM 5G
"To reduce security risks and avoid one-sided dependencies," Germany will phase out all PRC telecom components from its 5G networks, Germany's Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser, has said. According to her, the country's 5G network operators – Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefonica – will stop using parts from Huawei and ZTE in "core" 5G mobile networks by the end of 2026 and in "access and transmission" infrastructure by the end of 2029. "We are protecting the central nervous systems of Germany as a business location - and we are protecting the communication of citizens, companies and the state," Faeser said. (Channel NewsAsia, July 11, 2024)

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Russia's invasion of Ukraine triggered concerns in Germany about an over-reliance on China. Last year, Berlin unveiled a strategy for managing ties while "de-risking" that described China as a "partner, competitor and systemic rival."]

CHINA BUILDS A MILITARY BASE IN TAJIKISTAN
Satellite images reveal that China is building a military base in Tajikistan. Carved out of mountains 13,000 feet high, the base hosts troops from both countries for joint military drills. Neither government has acknowledged the existence of the refurbished Soviet-era facility, which Beijing began rehabilitating and extending after it signed a security pact with Tajikistan back in 2016. China is also providing ammunition and technology to the Central Asian state. On July 4, during his third state visit to Tajikistan, Xi Jinping inaugurated Beijing-financed government facilities in Dushanbe, including a new presidential palace and a parliament building modelled on the U.S. Capitol building that reportedly cost more than $390 million. (Telegraph, July 5, 2024) 

PRC-STATE HACKERS BEHIND ONLINE THEFT – AUSTRALIA 
Australia's government cybersecurity agency, the Cyber Security Centre, has accused the PRC hacker group known as "Advanced Persistent Threat 40" (APT40) of stealing passwords and usernames from two unnamed government networks in 2022. We are "committed to defending Australian organizations and individuals in the cyber domain, which is why for the first time we are leading this type of cyber attribution," noted Australia's Defense Minister, Richard Marles. In March, APT40, which conducts malicious cyber operations for the PRC's Ministry of State Security, accessed files from the New Zealand parliament's counsel office. (NBC, July 9, 2024)