Chinese espionage targeting semiconductor companies in the Netherlands is intensifying, Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said, quoted by Reuters and BTA.
The semiconductor industry, in which we are technologically advanced, is of interest to China in order to appropriate intellectual property, Brekelmans said in an interview on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Defense and Security Dialogue Forum. in Singapore.
In its annual report published in April last year, Dutch military intelligence reported that Chinese spies had targeted the Dutch semiconductor, aerospace and maritime industries to try to strengthen China's armed forces, Reuters recalls.
When asked whether Chinese espionage had stopped, Brekelmans replied that it continued. In reports, our intelligence agency said that the biggest cyber threat comes from China and that most of the cyber activity comes from the Asian side. This is the case this year, as it was in 2024, so Chinese espionage is intensifying, the Dutch minister said.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
Dutch intelligence agencies first publicly accused China of cyber espionage last year, when they said Chinese government-backed cyberspies had gained access to a Dutch military network in 2023.
Breckelmans also explained that security was becoming increasingly important for the Netherlands as China "used its economic position for geopolitical purposes and also to put pressure on us."
The minister added that his country had put in place tools to protect key sectors and interests, but both the Netherlands and the region needed to reduce their dependence on China for critical raw materials.
"Both at the European Union level and at the national level, we need to take greater steps to reduce these dependencies," he added.
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Source: www.bta.bg