China pursuing Dutch aerospace tech: Netherlands intel

China has sought to circumvent export restrictions and attempted to procure equipment and knowhow from the Netherlands’ aerospace sector, Dutch military intelligence warned on Wednesday.

“The Netherlands remains an attractive espionage target for China… especially in the domain of semiconductor industry, quantum technology and the aerospace and maritime industry,” the MIVD military spy agency’s head Jan Swillens said.

Swillens, who was delivering an annual report, said his service had last year “detected and prevented various Chinese attempts to acquire (military) technology”.

“Dutch firms, knowledge institutes and scientists are being targeted on a large scale. China is rapidly developing advanced weapons with advanced technologies (including) different types of anti-satellite weapons — highly destructive in nature.”

The MIVD says China is working intensively to increase satellite launches — seeking to conduct as many as 100 a year, up from 40 in 2020.

The MIVD added China’s aim is to lead the way in space through the development of state-of-the-art quantum communication networks with global coverage.

“This form of communication is more difficult to intercept” and confers “a major military advantage,” the Dutch agency said.

The MIVD said it had further identified cover organisations China was using to work around export restrictions.

The Dutch general intelligence agency AIVD, the MIVD’s partner agency, warned on Monday that China posed “the greatest threat to Dutch economic security” — which Beijing denied.

The Netherlands is a European leader manufacturing chips which are indispensable components for goods including smartphones and connected vehicles — but also military hardware.

In March, under pressure from Washington, The Hague announced plans for new export restrictions on technology to make computer chips in order to limit Chinese access to the technology.

Beijing railed at the move, which came less than two months after Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte visited President Joe Biden at the White House and discussed the issue.

The curbs are expected to affect Dutch-based ASML, Europe’s largest semiconductor tech company.

jcp/cw/gw