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.