Foreign Digest: Russian and China

Russia: Russia has targeted Baltic States, Nordic States and Poland with disinformation designed to sow divisions and promote support for the Russian aggression against Ukraine, according to a report last week from a group of French cyber experts. The attacks come from both Kremlin-affiliated groups and the Russian Federation government. Sweden, Lithuania and Poland have been hardest hit. These attacks are in addition to Russian cyberattacks against European States that target infrastructure, according to American cyber experts, such as those against Italy, for which the Italian Government said Russia was responsible. The United States last week urged its citizens to leave Russia after the arrest of an American on phony espionage charges, a typical tactic of dictatorships. Meanwhile, Finland’s application to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has been ratified by all 30 members and it will be formally admitted in a few days to the transatlantic defense pact, the most successful defense pact in world history. Finland’s NATO membership is a sharp break from its infamous neutrality during the Cold War, which led to the coining of the word Finlandization to signify a policy of neutrality adopted out of fear, which the Fins suffered as neighbors of the Soviet Union. The ex-Soviet intelligence officer Vladimir Putin, the Russian tyrant who is trying to restore the Soviet Union, prompted the Finnish application to join NATO by his aggression against Ukraine. Sweden’s NATO membership application is still pending because of Turkish opposition over Kurdish guerillas, as membership must be ratified unanimously, but the Scandinavian State is nonetheless being protected by NATO during its application process. Communist China: Several European States, like the United States, have recently banned the official use of a Chinese social media platform that can be used for espionage. The U.S. and its western allies have become increasingly vigilant about Communist Chinese infiltration of technology, infrastructure, etc. The European Union last week created a policy to shield members from intimidation, such as Communist China’s retaliation against Lithuania for strengthening its official ties with the Republic of China (Taiwan).