A Canadian woman was arrested and accused of espionage while working as an intern in the operational headquarters of the NATO military alliance, Belgian authorities said on Saturday. The Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office said it launched an espionage investigation after NATO’s security services tipped off Belgium’s military intelligence. Authorities then detained “a Canadian citizen of Chinese origin” on Friday, a day after raiding the suspect’s home and workplace inside NATO’s vast command center.
Heads of state gather for a NATO summit in Madrid on June 30, 2022.
“She is suspected of spying on behalf of a third country and of being a member of a criminal organization,” the prosecutors said in a statement. The Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Powers (SHAPE) is in the southern Belgian city of Mons near the French border. Military officials at SHAPE plan and command joint strategy, tactics and operations.
The alliance’s political headquarters is in Brussels, where ambassadors from member nations meet to discuss defense spending, drone incursions and cyberthreats. NATO’s Cyber Security Centre is based at SHAPE. “At this time, there is no indication that NATO or SHAPE operational readiness, command and control arrangements, or ongoing tasks have been adversely affected. SHAPE continues to fulfil its responsibilities without interruption,” SHAPE spokesman US Colonel Martin L. O’Donnell said. Canada and Belgium are members of the 32-nation military alliance that in 2021 labeled China a “security challenge “ alongside active threats in Russia and the Middle East. NATO leaders have said China is working to undermine global order, develop its military opaquely and run destabilizing disinformation campaigns. Beijing’s goals and “assertive behavior present systemic challenges to the rules-based international order and to areas relevant to alliance security,” they said. The Chinese government denounced the statement and said its military buildup was defensive. The arrest in Belgium comes as the alliance weathers deep criticism from US President Donald Trump who has drawn down the US security role in Europe. Trump has been pressing allies to spend more on defense and join the conflict in Iran while also threatening to seize Greenland by force from NATO-member Denmark.
