The Chinese automaker SAIC Motor in Galicia has an industrial project, which plans to build a car factory in the port of Ferrol, which has raised alarms in the Ministry of Defense, according to information this Monday by the newspaper El Mundo. Army reports warn of the security risk of the installation of the Chinese group's factory at a short distance from a military arsenal in Ferrol and base for several Spanish frigates.
Apparently, the factory would be located a short distance from a military arsenal and would expose the movements of Spanish frigates to a systemic rival. And not only that, but also, in that port the Spanish public company Navantia has a shipyard, so the place chosen by the Chinese state company to manufacture vehicles, and for its ships to transit to take them to other parts of Europe, is a strategic area for the Spanish naval industry.
Given this situation, the Ministry of Defense has reports that view the industrial project as "a threat". El Mundo recalls that "China has had its eyes on European ports for years", both commercial and military. "For years, in Europe we contemplated the arrival of Chinese capital to our port infrastructures as an economic opportunity. Today, that enthusiasm has given way to distrust," explains an official from the EU delegation in Beijing to 'El Mundo'. "What was once seen as a simple commercial operation is now analyzed from a security perspective," emphasizes the official.
The EU delegation has also expressed concern about other aspects: "Our main concern is that an excessive dependence on operators linked to the Chinese state could grant Beijing a capacity for influence that goes far beyond the economic sphere."
The sources refer to NATO reports that warn that ports are critical infrastructures where enormous amounts of logistical data, goods movements, digital management systems, and essential supply chains move. "The concern is that this information could be valuable for intelligence activities or that, in a situation of international crisis, an operator closely linked to the Chinese Government could exert pressure on services considered strategic," concludes the source from the EU delegation in Beijing.
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