China Policy Monitor No. 1607

CHINA SHOULD TAKE ITS LAND BACK FROM RUSSIA – TAIPEI
If China's claims to Taiwan are based on territorial integrity, it should also reclaim land ceded to Russia by the Qing Dynasty under the 1858 Treaty of Aigun, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has argued. The treaty, which China initially refused to ratify but was subsequently forced to affirm in the 1860 Convention of Peking, ceded a vast tract of land in what is now Russia's Far East to Moscow. Lai, whom China calls a "separatist," said that if territorial integrity were truly China's priority then Beijing would seek to recover this land from Russia. He criticized China's intentions, asserting that instead of addressing territorial disputes, China's real goal is to alter the international order and achieve hegemony in Asia. (Reuters, September 2, 2024)

FORMER AIDE TO NEW YORK GOVERNORS WAS A CHINESE AGENT
Linda Sun, a former top aide to New York Governors Kathy Hochul and Andrew Cuomo, has been charged with acting as an agent of the PRC. Sun and her husband Chris Hu are facing charges of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, alien smuggling, money laundering, bank fraud, and misuse of identification. Sun influenced state messaging on issues important to China, blocked Taiwanese officials from visiting, and secured "unauthorized invitation letters" from the governor to facilitate PRC officials' visits to New York for meetings with state officials. Sun, who held various roles in state government, was fired from the Department of Labor in March 2023 and the couple was arrested at their Long Island home. (CNN, September 4, 2024)

SOUTH KOREAN OFFICIAL SOLD SECRETS TO CHINA
An employee at South Korea's Defence Intelligence Command has confessed to selling dozens of classified military secrets, including details on undercover agents, to Chinese intelligence. The 49-year-old admitted to smuggling documents — either physically or by photographing them with his cell phone camera — and transmitting them via a Chinese cloud service. The breach, which began in 2017, went undetected until June 2024. Prosecutors have revealed that, since June 2022, the suspect had leaked at least 30 pieces of military intelligence for which they received millions via a shell account. The official, who was a non-commissioned military officer before becoming a civilian employee, has been charged with benefiting the enemy, bribery, and violations of the Military Secret Protection Act. (The Chosun Daily, August 29, 2024)

TO BUILD A "STRONG MILITARY," CHINA MERGES ITS TOP SHIPBUILDERS
China Shipbuilding Industry (CSICL) and CSSC Holdings, the two top companies of state-owned conglomerate China State Shipbuilding Corp., will merge to "further focus on major state strategy" and "promote equipment for a strong military." The companies, which supply ships including aircraft carriers to the PRC Navy, are among the 100 or so elite state-owned enterprises directly under the control of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. (NikkeiAsia, September 3, 2024)

[EDITOR'S NOTE: China's shipbuilding capacity is 232 times greater than that of the United States. PRC shipyards have a manufacturing capacity of about 23 million tons, whereas U.S. shipyards can produce less than 100,000 tons. By 2035, China will have 475 battleships and the U.S. will have less than 317.]

CHINA EXPANDS ITS POLAR PRESENCE
China has sent three next generation icebreakers to the Arctic Sea for the first time, and has laid plans to complete a fourth icebreaker next year, to support year-round operations in the area. Transit via the Arctic promises to cut at least 33 days off the longer routes to Europe via the Suez Canal or around Africa. The deployments, which contribute to Beijing's growing commercial, scientific, diplomatic, and military interests in the region, are facilitated by recent agreements with Moscow concerning Arctic shipping routes. At their summit in May, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin agreed to enhance cooperation in energy production, transport, and research. (South China Morning Post, September 5, 2024)