Taiwan shares intelligence with Five Eyes, spy chief reveals
Joel Gehrke
Video Embed
Taiwan shares intelligence with the United States and the rest of the so-called Five Eyes bloc of American allies, according to Taiwan’s spy chief.
“Yes, and in real time,” Taiwanese National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen said during an appearance before the Taiwanese legislature.
BIDEN DENIES HE’S ‘CONCERNED’ ABOUT CHINA DESPITE SEEKING TO ISOLATE THE CCP
Taiwan has been sharing signals intelligence with the U.S. for decades, although the arrangement was a closely held secret before being exposed by the media in 2001. The public acknowledgment of a wider intelligence partnership, elicited by a question from an opposition lawmaker, fits into Taipei’s efforts to expand cooperation with foreign governments in defiance of Chinese Communist Party claims to sovereignty over the island.
“The DPP authorities’ self-deceptive attempt to seek wider ‘international space’ is moving toward a dead end,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Tuesday, referring to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s governing party. “Any move that goes against the trend of the world and international justice and clings to a wrong position is doomed to fail.”
Taiwan is the last outpost of the nationalist government that was driven out of mainland China by the communists in 1949. The U.S. cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1979 in order to move its embassy to Beijing, but the two countries maintain a close unofficial relationship.
“U.S. defense contractors intentionally provoke confrontation between the two sides, taking the opportunity to make a profit,” Zhu Fenglain, a spokeswoman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said this week, following reports that a delegation of U.S. defense companies will soon visit Taipei.
The U.S. and most of its allies in Europe and the Pacific are concerned that China may soon attempt to capture Taiwan by force.
“I call on European navies to patrol the Taiwan Strait to show Europe’s commitment to freedom of navigation in this absolutely crucial area,” European Union High Representative Josep Borrell told a French media outlet in a recent interview.
The value of economic relationships with China has complicated efforts to counter Beijing, as has the likely high cost of a future war for Taiwan, leaving some U.S. allies pessimistic.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“Prudence dictates that we must assume the worst,” British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said this week. “The U.K. and our allies are prepared to be open about our presence in the Indo-Pacific. And I urge China to be equally open about the doctrine and intent behind its military expansion because transparency is surely in everyone’s interests and secrecy can only increase the risk of tragic miscalculation.”
The U.K. is a key member of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing group, which also includes the U.S., Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Tsai, the Taiwanese intelligence chief, confirmed that his team is building a “secure and encrypted system” to expedite the sharing of information with the Five Eyes.