China using ‘classic hybrid playbook’ in bid to blunt Nato tech edge, US envoy says after Japan, South Korea trip

Disinformation, cyberattacks among means used by China to ‘erode’ technological edge of Nato and other nations, US permanent envoy Julianne Smith says

Talks with non-members Japan and South Korea should not be seen as aggressive, Smith says after leading trip by envoys from eight Nato member states

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and ambassador to Nato Julianne Smith arrive for a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers, in Brussels last month. Photo: AP

Published: 8:59pm, 20 Dec 2023Updated: 9:01pm, 20 Dec 2023

Nato envoys on a recent visit to Japan and South Korea learned about ways to protect their technological edge from being blunted by China’s “classic hybrid playbook”, the US ambassador to the transatlantic security alliance said.

Julianne Smith, the United States’ permanent Nato representative, said American and European ambassadors believed that China was using disinformation, cyberattacks, economic pressure and other means to try and undermine the technological advantage of countries including Nato members.

As Pacific countries, neither Japan nor South Korea is a Nato member. But Japan was in talks earlier this year to host Nato’s first liaison office in Asia, while South Korea has joined the 31-member bloc’s cyber defence unit.

Beijing has cited the moves to accuse Nato of seeking to expand to Asia, but the alliance said its Asia-Pacific partnerships were driven by the countries concerned and did not concern Nato membership. Both Japan and South Korea have voiced concerns about China’s rapid military build-up and territorial moves in regional waters.

Last week, Smith led a delegation of Nato ambassadors from the Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and the United Kingdom to Japan and South Korea. The agenda included discussions on how the bloc could work more closely with Japan and South Korea on issues including emerging technology, cyber defence and supply chain security.

Julianne Smith says China’s “fundamental goal” is to erode the technological edge of countries including those in Nato. Photo: Kyodo

“We are all increasingly aware of a classic hybrid playbook that the PRC is relying on more and more,” Smith said on Wednesday, using the initialism for the People’s Republic of China. “And it comes down to this fundamental goal of eroding the technological edge of a number of countries around the world, including those in the Nato alliance.”