6:00 PM ET, Friday, July 21, 2023
The Cipher Brief curates open source information from around the world that impacts national security. Here's a look at today's headlines, broken down by region of the world:
In the Americas
Canada Charges Former Police Officer with Working for China. Canada charged a retired officer of its Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) with foreign interference, accusing him of helping China to “identify and intimidate someone outside the scope of Canadian law.” The RCMP said the officer, William Majcher, allegedly used his “extensive network of contacts in Canada to obtain intelligence or services” to advance China’s interests. Majcher, who is from Hong Kong, faces charges of conspiracy and acts benefitting a foreign entity. The case adds to Canadian accusations of Chinese interference, including with illegal police stations and the targeting and coercion of lawmakers. Reuters South China Morning Post
U.S. Commerce Secretary Still Going to China Despite Email Hacks. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Friday that she is still planning to visit China “later this year” despite reports that she is one of several senior U.S. officials whose emails were hacked by a group Microsoft says was based in China. Raimondo, who did not confirm if her account was compromised, underscored that her trip does not mean the U.S. will “excuse any kind of hacking or infringement on our security,” but she said the visit will still aim to “de-escalate tension where we can and look for ways that we can work together.” To this end, Raimondo said her trip will both raise concerns about how Beijing is “targeting U.S. tech companies” and violates intellectual property rights, as well as “find lanes of commerce where we can do commerce.” Her trip will follow visits by other senior U.S. officials to China. Reuters
Biden Ask CIA Director Burns to Become Cabinet Member. President Joe Biden on Friday asked CIA Director William Burns to become a member of his cabinet. Biden said Burns has delivered “ a clear-eyed, long-term approach to our nation’s top national security challenges” such as the Ukraine war and competition with China. The move is symbolic and will not give Burns any new authorities. Reuters Washington Post
Western Europe
Netherlands Ends Arms Deliveries Controls on Turkey, Saudi Arabia, UAE. The Netherlands has lifted restrictions on arms transfers to Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The move ends a “presumption of denial” policy, which denied military deliveries to the countries unless it could be “irrefutably” proven the weapons would not be used in north Syria or Yemen. The Dutch caretaker government said it removed the restrictions to join a Franco-German-Spanish arms regulation treaty and while still following EU and UN rules on arms exports. The potential arms treaty did not apply a “presumption of denial” policy as signatories agreed to trust each other’s export control assessments. Reuters
Central and Eastern Europe
U.S. National Security Advisor Says Wagner Not Fighting in Ukraine. U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan on Friday said that the Wagner Group is not currently fighting in Ukraine. Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum, Sullivan said it is difficult to place where Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin is, but noted there is evidence of Wagner fighters relocating to Belarus and that it is unclear if Wagner will return to Ukraine in the future. Prigozhin said on Wednesday that his mercenaries will not fight in Ukraine for now and is directing them to train the Belarusian military and to prepare to travel to Africa. Reuters
Zelensky Says Ukraine Must Neutralize Crimea Bridge. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday said that the Kerch Bridge, which connects Russia to Crimea, must be neutralized as it is a prime conduit supplying Russia’s war effort in Ukraine. He said the bridge is used daily to “feed the wear with ammunition” and characterized the bridge as “an enemy facility built outside the law, outside international laws and all applicable norms.” He also reiterated Ukrainian goals to “reclaim the whole of the Crimea.” His comments came after an attack on the bridge earlier this week which killed two people. CNN
Putin Warns Polish Aggression Towards Belarus Will Be Seen as Attack on Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday accused NATO member Poland of seeking to take Belarusian territory and said that any Polish aggression towards Minsk will be met with a Russian response. He asserted that an attack on Belarus would be an attack on Russia, as the two countries form a loose “Union State,” and claimed that Poland “dream(s) of the Belarusian lands,” without providing evidence. Putin also claimed there are reports that a Polish-Lithuanian unit is planning to deploy to western Ukraine and occupy territory there. Putin’s comments come after Poland’s decision to deploy troops to its east in response to unease over the Wagner Group’s presence in Belarus. Warsaw denied territorial ambitions in Belarus and dismissed Putin’s claims and accusations, with Poland’s deputy minister coordinator of special services Stanislaw Zaryn saying that Moscow is “once again repeating lines about Poland and also trying to falsify the truth about the war against Ukraine,” adding that Putin is “using historical revisionism” to vilify Poland. Reuters
Asia and Oceania
French Diplomat Says China Sending Equipment to Russia It Shouldn’t. Emmanuel Bonne, the head of French President Emmanuel Macron’s diplomatic team, said on Thursday that China is sending equipment that can be used for military purposes to Russia. Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum, he said China is “doing things we would prefer them not to do,” though he said Beijing is “not delivering massively military capacities to Russia,” though he said the West seeks “Chinese abstention” of deliveries of any such equipment. French officials later told CNN that Bonne referenced dual-use technologies and non-lethal assistance like helmets and body armor. China has repeatedly denied sending military equipment to Russia since the start of Moscow’s full invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The White House, Elysee Palace and Chinese embassy in Paris did not comment on Bonne’s remarks. Reuters
Middle East and Northern Africa
Iran Criticizes EU Sanctions Over Tehran’s Support for Russia. Iran’s foreign ministry said on Friday that Tehran “reserves the right for reciprocal and proportional action” in response to the EU’s latest sanctions on Iran over its support for Russia amid the Ukraine war. The measures block the export of components used in the production of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and lists six Iranian nationals linked to the transfer of drones to Russia and air defense systems to Syria. The ministry said the sanctions are “politically motivated” and denied accusations that Tehran sends drones to Russia for use in Ukraine. Reuters
Algeria Applies to Join BRICS. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced that Algeria has applied to join BRICS and that it applied to be a shareholder member of BRICS member with an initial contribution of $1.5 billion. Tebboune said Algeria expressed openness to join BRICS at the end of his visit to China. Oil- and gas-rich Algeria is seeking international opportunities to diversify and strengthen its economy. Reuters
Cyber and Tech
Major AI Companies Sign White House Commitments on New Technology. Seven major companies developing artificial intelligence (AI) software – including Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Inflection, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI – signed a set of voluntary commitments to regulate the use of their AI products. The commitments include pledges to pre-release internal and external security testing for AI models, forming insider threat safeguards and taking steps to bolster cybersecurity regarding unreleased and proprietary model weights, which are used in “training” AI neural networks, as well as commitments to research bias and privacy risks related to AI. The commitments come amid widespread concern in Washington about how to properly regulate AI. Several countries, including Brazil, the UAE, India and Israel, were consulted on the voluntary commitments as well. Fedscoop The White House New York Times
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