The British Parliament’s Defense Select Committee said Sunday (Feb. 14) that investments from hostile countries such as China pose a risk to the U.K.’s national security and should be banned from investing in the U.K. defense supply chain. The committee specifically cited concerns about Chinese Communist Party investments in its report.
The defense select committee warned Sunday that the U.K. defense supply chain has been “opened to potentially hostile foreign involvement” because of the Defense Department’s “country-neutral” policy for handling foreign investment.
The committee recommended that the Defense Ministry publish a list of approved countries from which investment should continue. The committee added: “All countries not on this list should be barred from investing in the U.K. defense supply chain, including China and Russia.”
The U.K. conducted an investigation into the vulnerability of the defense supply chain during the COVID-19 (Chinese Communist virus-induced pneumonia disease) pandemic and released a report on Sunday. In its report, the Defense Select Committee warned about investments from hostile countries.
The committee found that foreign involvement in the U.K. defense supply chain was widespread because of the Defense Department’s approach to encouraging inward investment, which it viewed as “one of the primary ways to achieve value for money.
“While the evidence suggests that the majority of investment comes from close allies and is welcome, there are some investments that raise concerns,” the report said. The report said.
“The MoD’s open and country-neutral approach means that the defense supply chain has been open to potentially hostile foreign involvement. There are reports of companies owned and influenced by foreign governments whose values and behaviors are inconsistent with our own, and who are known to engage in intellectual property theft.”
The commission expressed concern about the involvement of companies linked to countries such as China (Communist Party of China), which it believes “could lead to British high technology and equipment featuring foreign military technology.”
The report lists nine companies operating in the British defense industry that have been acquired by Chinese companies in recent years. One of those companies is eXception PCB, which makes plastic parts for circuit boards in the F-35 fighter jet.
The report also cites another case. The report argues that British semiconductor technology could end up in the Communist Party’s naval magnetic rail gun after the Chinese company Zhuzhou Zhong Che Times Electric (formerly Zhuzhou Nan Che Times) acquired Dynex Semiconductor in 2008.
The committee urged the Defense Ministry to “urgently assess the implications of Chinese (Communist Party) ownership of the companies listed in this report.
The lawmakers also expressed concern about the MoD’s purchase of used Chinese equipment.
According to the report, the British government recently purchased two used Chinese 737 airliners to be converted into E-7 wedge-tail aircraft to provide British airborne early warning and control capabilities.
The committee said this was “deeply concerning” and that “buying equipment from China for use by the (British) armed forces should not be a viable option for the Defense Ministry.
The report quoted commentators as saying the equipment could have security issues because they “could be defective or tampered with prior to transfer.
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