According to Bloomberg's report on August 28th, the Dutch government is seeking to expand the powers of its intelligence agencies in order to more effectively deal with so-called cyberattacks from China and Russia.
This legislation aims to simplify the procedures followed by intelligence agencies, so that they do not have to go through cumbersome bureaucratic approval processes when taking action. The proposal still needs to be debated and voted on in parliament before it can become law.
Dutch Defense Minister Zelleerius accused: "We see that the number of large-scale cyber attacks carried out by Russian or Chinese hackers is increasing. Our adversaries are becoming more complex, and their activities are becoming more apparent."
She said, "With this legal document in hand, we're just sharpening our blades."
According to reports, this measure was introduced as the Netherlands faces dual pressures from Russia and China: on one hand, there is the threat from Russia amid the ongoing Ukrainian war; on the other hand, there is economic competition with China in key technologies such as semiconductors. The headquarters of the global chip equipment giant ASML is located in the Netherlands. Previously, ASML accused a Chinese competitor of violating its trade secrets.
The Dutch Prime Minister Rob Tegen said on Friday, "Due to our highly developed economy and technology, the Netherlands is a target for espionage and sabotage activities." He specifically mentioned the threat of cyber attacks from China, stating that these attacks attempt to obtain data from Dutch businesses.
In this regard, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly emphasized that China has always required Chinese enterprises to carry out foreign cooperation based on compliance with international rules and local laws and regulations. It is irresponsible for the Dutch authorities to overstate the importance of mutually beneficial cooperation in matters related to security, as this will damage the bilateral cooperation atmosphere and does not serve the interests of the Netherlands.
