US Presses Israel On Haifa Port Amid China Espionage Concerns
TEL AVIV: American officials have continued to press their
Israeli counterparts about espionage concerns related to a Chinese-built port
in Haifa, suggesting that the Israelis conduct regular inspections of heavy
machinery there to ensure nothing nefarious is afoot, Israeli defense sources
told Breaking Defense.
The renewed warnings have come in the weeks since CIA
Director William Burns reportedly raised similar concerns with Israeli Prime
Minister Naftali Bennett last month about Chinese infrastructure projects. In
February Israel refused an American request to inspect the Chinese port in
Haifa itself, as the Israeli daily Haaretz first reported.
Israeli sources told Breaking Defense that security
officials here share Washington’s concerns, as the Israeli navy maintains its
largest base adjacent to the port. The US Navy also frequents Haifa.
Gabi Siboni, head of the Military and Strategic Affairs
Program and Cyber Security Program at the Israeli Institute for National
Security Studies (INSS), said that there is a clear danger from any
surveillance technology that could be inserted into the new port’s equipment.
“It is possible to plant surveillance systems in heavy machinery used in the
port and these can transmit what they see or hear,” Siboni said.
A spokesperson for the US State Department said that while
they would not comment on “specific projects,” US officials “are engaging with
allies and partners worldwide, including with Israel, as they develop national
security-focused investment screening systems.”
“We have been candid with our Israeli friends over risks to
our shared national security interests and will continue these discussions in
the appropriate venues,” the spokesperson said. The CIA declined to comment for
this report.
Some of the domestic concern, the sources said, comes from
the fact the Israeli navy recently took delivery of new Sa’ar 6 corvettes and
is expecting delivery of the Dolphin 2 AIP submarine, under construction in
Germany. Sources said those projects are sensitive enough that the Israeli
government asked the Germans to hide some sections of the submarines from
public view. Both marine fighting platforms are now being equipped with highly
classified combat systems developed in Israel.
The new Haifa Bayport terminal was built with a $1.7 billion
investment and, according to the 25-year contract, will be managed by China’s
state-owned Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG).
A report last month from INSS detailed various security
concerns, from the worry over “debt traps,” to the potential for Chinese
military port visits to direct espionage.
The researchers say that the Bayport Terminal is no nearer
to the Israeli naval base than many civilian buildings in Haifa, yet its
location on the waterline offers the potential for gathering acoustic
intelligence — perhaps via the port’s eight cranes. (The cranes themselves are
made by another Chinese company and have been used around the world, including
in San Francisco and South Carolina, the report says.)
As its go-to military contracts fade, and in the wake of
scandal, Austal’s new president is optimistic about the company’s next
evolution.
The researchers said that the terminal, like any strategic
infrastructure close to Israel’s critical security assets, requires full and
professional risk management, as well as close, coordinated oversight from
Israel’s security and transportation services.
Israeli defense sources said that the navy will take some
“operational steps” to keep its surface and underwater platforms safe from
“suspected foreign eyes and ears.”
Representatives for the Chinese embassy in Tel Aviv and for
SIPG did not respond to requests for comment for this report.
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