Construction of Chinese Embassy in London: Report cites deep concern, strategic vulnerability

Canberra, Jan 22 (IANS) The United Kingdom's decision to permit the construction of a Chinese Embassy in London is not merely a "planning approval" but a warning about how economic fragility can translate into strategic vulnerability — a lesson Australia must take seriously. The proposed Embassy, critics said, could serve as a hub for interference in Britain and as a platform to suppress China's critics in the European country, a report highlighted on Thursday.

"In approving construction of an enormous Chinese Embassy in London, Britain is trading long-term security resilience for short-term economic advantage. For Australia, the 20 January decision should raise concerns about strategic signalling, alliance coherence and the risks of greater economic dependence on China—at a time when all AUKUS partners are attempting to strengthen the pact against that country, the United States’ peer competitor," a report in Australia-based ‘The Strategist’, detailed.

"The 55,000 square metre Embassy will be the largest diplomatic mission in Europe, bigger than even the US embassy in London. It will be beside the Tower of London and within metres of sensitive communications cables linking financial data from the city to Canary Wharf," it added.

According to the report, during construction, security concerns have been raised about potential surveillance, with Chinese officials positioned just one metre from cables running beneath the pavement.

Citing the inspectors' report, it said, under diplomatic convention, China could legally deny British authorities inspect the premises during construction or after completion.

“Concerns over espionage activity are not unfounded, especially as Westminster last year was engulfed by a Chinese spying scandal. It exposed the vulnerability of democratic institutions themselves. Subsequently, the charges against the two men accused of spying were dropped because the British government refused to label China a ‘threat’.

This, too, reinforced perceptions of excessive caution towards Beijing,” the report mentioned.

Regarding the Embassy, it said, the US has reportedly voiced deep concern about the plans, with the chair of the US House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party having openly opposed the development, citing risks to US data passing through nearby cables.

“When allies raise red flags at this level, those concerns warrant close attention,” the report noted.

For Australia, it said, the message is that diversifying the economy, particularly to reduce dependence on China, should always be a strategic imperative as over-reliance grants Beijing strategic leverage.

“Governments perceived as transactional on national security can lose allied confidence. Britain is not only a Five Eyes intelligence partner but a member of AUKUS, a security partnership designed to balance China through deterrence. When an AUKUS partner appears to accommodate Beijing for a favourable economic outcome, questions about its strategic coherence inevitably follow,” the report stressed.

--IANS

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