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Fumio Ota

【Viewpoints】International Cooperation Required to Cope with China’s Political Manipulation

Fumio Ota ／ 2022.01.24 (Mon)


January 17, 2022

　
The British Security Service, known as MI 5 (Military Intelligence Section 5), has issued a warning that a woman agent of China’s United Front Work Department has been trying to interfere in British politics by giving donations to lawmakers. Australia’s intelligence authorities have also opened China’s infiltration operations recently. “Silent Invasion-China’s Influence in Australia-” written by Clive Hamilton is known as a book on such Chinese operations.

Kerry Gershaneck, a former U.S. Marines Corps officer, compiled China’s infiltration operations in his book on China’s “Political Warfare” to win without fighting, based on his experiences in Taiwan and Thailand where he stayed for several years.

In Japan, the National Police Agency announced last year that a Chinese Communist Party member used a fake name to get an identification number from a rental server and conducted cyber espionages on some 200 entities including the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency as instructed by the People’s Liberation Army. Japanese intelligence organizations should open to the public for such Chinese political manipulations and form a reversed united front with countries that share a sense of crisis with Japan.

MICE used for infiltration operations

Agents skillfully use Money, Ideology, Compromise (including honey traps) and Ego, known as MICE, for espionages.

Today, few people believe in communism ideology. Even Communist China has adopted the market economy system. But some people may be deceived by “common values for all mankind” advocated by China’s Xi Jinping leadership.

Then at present, money, honey traps and ego are used frequently. They have been used by China traditionally. In this way, China has trained spies who infiltrate into enemy regimes as inside agents, as instructed in an employment of secret agents chapter of The Art of War written by Sun Tzu. According to reports on the MI5 warning, alleged Chinese agent Christine Lee worked a law firm in London while giving donations to politicians such as the opposition Liberal Democratic Party’s leader Sir Ed Davey. When I stayed in China as an admiral of the Maritime Self-Defense Force active duty, I also became a honey trap target.

Investigate Japan-China friendship organizations

China attempts to organize overseas Chinese to expand influence as instructed by the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party.

In response, Western countries that share common values should share information on Chinese infiltration methods, enhance precautions and increase the synergy effects of their measures against Chinese infiltration through cooperation between their intelligence organizations.

Christine Lee subjected to the British MI5 warning had engaged in promoting Britain-China friendship. Japan first should investigate activities of the seven Japan-China friendship organizations, such as the Japan-China Friendship Association, Japan-China Friendship Legislative Alliance, Japan-China Economic Association, Association of Japan-China Cultural Exchange, the Association for the Promotion of International Trade, Japan-China Association, and the Japan-China Friendship Center, also check Confucius institutes at Japanese universities.

Fumio Ota is former director of the Defense Intelligence Headquarters.