China, Russia: This is how you talk up a conflict

What happend? For some inexplicable reason, EU foreign policy makers are suddenly sounding the alarm. China is accused of hacking attacks, Russia is said to be a “threat to the whole of Europe”.

The news came as a surprise, and it was abundantly vague. A US representative from Washington, AFP reported, accused China of “malicious” cyber activities and threatening national security.

An “unprecedented” alliance of allies, including the EU, Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Nato, would join the US “to expose the malicious cyber activities of the Chinese Ministry of State Security”.

And so it came to pass.

“We have detected malicious cyber activities with significant impact targeting governmental organisations and political institutions in the European Union and key industries in Europe,” said EU foreign affairs representative Josep Borrell.

Specifically, he named the groups “Advanced Persistent Threat 40” and “Advanced Persistent Threat 31”, which are said to operate from the territory of China and regularly engage in espionage and industrial espionage, Borrell said.

But what they have done, he did not say. A Microsoft Exchange Server was attacked – but that was already in March. Borrell did not say what damage had been done, and he would not answer questions about possible sanctions.

Shortly afterwards came the next warning – this time about Russia. The country was a danger for the entire European continent, declared Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj.

“If Brussels does not show ironclad support for the European aspirations of our three countries (Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova), then someone will show the iron muscles of their weapons on our three state borders,” he said during a visit by EU Council President Charles Michel.

Again, it was unclear what the occasion for this martial warning was. No incident at the borders has been reported.

Only one thing is clear: statements like these are talking up a conflict. It almost looks as if someone is trying to position the EU against China and Russia.

The fact that this is happening just before the federal elections is surely a coincidence, isn’t it? And that it comes shortly after the revelations about “Project Pegasus”, which incriminate Israel in particular, is certainly also…

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) The original post (in German) is here