Despite the outward semblance of a robust partnership, a security document recently leaked from a lesser-known Russian intelligence agency has categorized China as Moscow's adversary, rather than an ally.
The eight-page internal Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) document was penned by the Department for Counterintelligence Operations’ 7th Service and was first reported on by the New York Times after obtaining the memo.
Likely meant for distribution throughout FSB field offices, the New York Times noted that the internal memo reveals “the most detailed behind-the-scenes view to date of Russian counterintelligence’s thinking about China.”
Accusations are reportedly abundant in the document and charge China with a range of subversive activities. For example, the memo claims that Beijing is trying to recruit Russian spies to obtain secret Russian military technology.
The authors of the document claim China is targeting Russian scientists, luring in those who are disaffected. Beijing is also trying to recruit Russian officials, experts, journalists, and businesspeople inside Moscow’s power structure.
“Priority recruitment is given to former employees of aircraft factories and research institutes, as well as current employees who are dissatisfied with the closure of the ekranoplan development program by the Russian Ministry of Defense or who are experiencing financial difficulties,” the memo reads.
The intelligence document also accused China of spying on Russia’s military operation in Ukraine to learn about Western weapons and warfare to better understand how Beijing might fare against a Western-backed adversary, particularly Taiwan.
“Of particular interest to Beijing is information about combat methods using drones,” the document noted according to the New York Times. China is also interested in learning about the modernization of Western software and “methods for countering new types of Western weapons.”
However, while the claims that Beijing is spying on Russia are concerning for Russian intelligence, the authors of the intelligence memo levied far more sinister accusations against their public ally.
According to the document, Russian intelligence is concerned that Chinese academics are laying the groundwork for future Chinese territorial claims on land that was formerly Chinese, revealing a deep mistrust of China and its future geopolitical goals.
The New York Times noted that Moscow has long feared Chinese encroachment along its 2,615-mile border, particularly in areas Russia annexed in the 19th century, such as the territory around the modern-day city of Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East.
The document pointed out Beijing is searching for traces of “ancient Chinese peoples” in Russia’s Far East as a possible way to further local opinions about future territorial claims. FSB officers were ordered to expose these activities in the memo.
Russian intelligence officials are also worried about China’s interests in the Arctic and the Northern Sea Route, a region that hugs Russia’s coast and has been traditionally too icy for reliable shipping, though that may be changing.
“Anxiety about Russia’s susceptibility to an increasingly powerful Beijing dominates the memo,” the New York Times explained. However, the outlet also noted it was “unclear how common those worries are across the Russian establishment.”
Interestingly, the document was not dated but the context within the memo led the New York Times to estimate that it was written sometime between 2023 and 2024.
According to the New York Times, the cyber security group Ares Leaks first obtained the document, which made authentication impossible—though it was assessed as authentic by six Western intelligence agencies that were shown the document. That may be a problem for Moscow since its intelligence officers reportedly referred to China as “the enemy” in the document.