US is 'world’s top empire of hacking and theft of secrets', says China on NSA spying row

China on May 31 weighed in on the Danish and European media reports alleging that the United States spied on its European allies including German Chancellor Angela Merkel between 2012 and 2014. While US-China has often indulged in a public war of words, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Monday labelled Washington as the “world’s top empire of hacking and theft of secrets.” On Twitter, China’s government account stated, “As facts have proven time and again, the US is the world’s top empire of hacking and theft of secrets. With targets including not only competitors but also its allies, the US is a real master of large-scale, indiscriminate tapping and theft of secrets.” It also shared an article with the same news.

China’s remarks came after a French government official on May 31 said that if proven, the claims are “extremely serious.” Secretary of State for European Affairs in France, Clement Beaune told the country’s Info radio, “It is extremely serious, we need to see if our partners in the EU, the Danes, have committed errors or faults in their cooperation with American services.” He noted that it would be very serious if Washington actually spied on EU leaders. 

"Between allies, there must be trust, a minimal cooperation, so these potential facts are serious," said the minister while urging that the facts must first “be verified” and then “conclusions drawn in terms of cooperation."

US Spied On Several European Allies

The United States spied on the top politicians in Europe including German Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2012 to 2014 with the assistance of Danish intelligence, as reported by Danish and European media on May 30. Danish public broadcaster Danmarks Radio (DR) said that the United States National Security Agency (NSA) had listened to Danish internet cables to spy on top politicians and even senior officials in Germany, Sweden, Norway and France. The report also stated that the NSA took the benefit of surveillance collaboration with Denmark military intelligence unit FE to carry out the task.

According to DR, the Danish Defence Minister Trine Bramsen was informed of the US spying in August 2020. She acquired the position in June 2019. She revealed to the broadcaster that “systematic eavesdropping of close allies is unacceptable." However, as per reports, it remains unclear if Denmark authorised the United States to use its surveillance system in order to spy on its European neighbours. DR revealed the information regarding American intelligence eavesdropping on officials following an investigation that it led in collaboration with Swedish broadcaster SVT, Norway's NRK, Germany's NDR, WDR and Suddeutsche Zeitung, and France's Le Monde.

As per the DR report, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, then foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and also the then-opposition leader Peer Steinbruck were among those the NSA had spied on during those two years. In the same time period, the US intelligence was capable of accessing SMS text messages, telephone calls, and even internet traffic including searches, chats and other online messaging services. 

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