The Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service (Välisluureamet) published its annual report “International Security and Estonia 2021” on Feb. 17. The report paints a picture of the Chinese Communist Party trying to suppress criticism and dominate key technologies in Estonia and other democratic countries.
The Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service devotes nine pages at the end of the 82-page document to “increasing pressure from the Chinese Communist Party. According to the report, “the implementation of the CCP’s foreign policy doctrine, or the creation of a ‘community of common Destiny,’ will lead to a world of silence dominated by Beijing. Faced with growing confrontation with the West, the CCP’s main goal is to create a divide between the United States and Europe.”
The section of the report on China highlights Beijing’s growing ability to conduct influence operations in the West through economic leverage, surveillance of Chinese citizens abroad and cultivation of local elites. The report also warns that the Communist Party leadership “has a clear goal of making the world dependent on Chinese technology,” citing 5G maker huawei and the BeiDou navigation system.
U.S. news site Axios reported that Russia has long been Estonia’s biggest security concern, especially against the threat of a Russian military invasion. The Chinese Communist Party does not pose a direct military threat to Estonia. But throughout the 2010s, Estonia has become increasingly wary of Beijing’s use of economic coercion for geopolitical purposes, its cyber espionage and its growing partnership with Russia. This year’s foreign intelligence report uses the harshest language yet.
Frank Jüris, a researcher at the Estonian Foreign Policy Institute at the International Center for Defense and Security in Tallinn, Estonia’s capital, said, “Estonia’s greatest fear is that the world order that allowed Estonia to regain its independence 30 years ago, and the prosperity and development we have participated in over the last 30 years, is being dismantled. ” He said, “Our world order is being dismantled.”
Estonia, like the Czech Republic, is more outspoken in its criticism of Beijing’s behavior than fellow EU members Germany and France and other major powers. According to Juris, “This is not the first Time that a small European country has been in the vanguard, leading in the right direction. It is mainly the experience of small European countries in dealing with aggressive Russia that has led them to warn the Russian regime to other European countries.” Mikk Marran, head of Estonia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, tweeted Wednesday, “We will continue to keep an eye on those who do not follow the rules and keep everyone informed.”
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