The romantic relationships between French sailors and Chinese students born in Brest, base of the French fleet of nuclear submarines and university headquarters, are worrying Paris. He tells it Financial Times according to which marriages between young people from Beijing attending courses at various universities and personnel serving at the naval base have increased in the port city of Brittany. This link could hide – according to the closed-door question asked by a French parliamentarian in the National Assembly – an attempt at espionage by China. This is not, however, a new story. As Guido Olimpio and Guido Santevecchi recall, already in 2019 the journalist Antoine Izambard revealed in the book France-Chine, le liaisons dangereuses the increase in French-Chinese romantic unions in the city of Brest.
However, there is no clear information and data on the number of marriages, engagements and adventures with Chinese girls that have raised suspicions in Paris. Yet Chinese espionage returned to the fore in late April after four arrests in Germany and two in Britain. Western intelligence agencies and various analysts have stated, explains the British newspaper, that Beijing’s espionage activities – in particular those led by the Ministry of State Security – are real. Furthermore, even more worrying for experts is the link between the Chinese and Russian networks. «China and Russia have common goals that they jointly promote when it serves their interests. Both are trying to weaken the position of Western countries,” the Security and Intelligence Service of Finland warned late last year.
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