The head of Britain’s GCHQ spy agency is warning China not to become “too closely aligned” with Russia as it continues to pursue its path of aggression against Ukraine. In a rare public address during a visit to Australia, Sir Jeremy Fleming will say President Vladimir Putin has made a “strategic miscalculation” over his assault on his neighbour.
And he will say that China’s long-term interests are not well served by an alliance with a country that “wilfully and illegally” ignores the international “rules of the road”. His intervention comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week directly confronted President Xi Jinping over Beijing’s stance on the conflict in Ukraine in what was described as a “frank and candid” discussion.
Speaking at the Australian National University in Canberra, Sir Jeremy will say that President Putin has made a clear “strategic choice” to align with China as it grows more powerful in direct opposition to the United States. From the Kremlin’s point of view, it regards China in the current crisis as a supplier of weapons, a provider of technology, a market for its oil and gas and a means to circumvent sanctions.
