This summer, Chinese researchers wanted to celebrate 20 years since they started research on Svalbard. In advance, the Norwegian authorities had set a clear framework for the day. Norway has sovereignty over the archipelago and acts as host for all researchers here. The celebration was nevertheless more sensational than planned, when 183 cruise tourists with flags and banners turned up. Among them was a woman in a military uniform associated with the Chinese armed forces. This is shown by research carried out by news in collaboration with the American media house Radio Free Asia (RFA). – This can clearly be perceived as provocative. It clearly goes against Norwegian practice, says researcher Marc Lanteigne. What actually happened on Svalbard on 28 July this year? An internal memo news has been given access to explains why the Ministry of Foreign Affairs felt compelled to summon the Chinese embassy for a serious talk. Before the commemoration, the Chinese Polar Institute (PRIC) had asked the Norwegian Polar Institute (NP) for permission to hang a banner above the front door of the building where they are based. NP, who heads the research station, took the request on to the Ministry of Climate and Environment (KLD), to which they are subject. Together they agreed to say no. On 28 July, the banner was nevertheless hung up, with yellow writing on a red background. The text can be translated as follows: “Let’s celebrate the 20th anniversary of China’s Arctic research station “Yellow River” with great enthusiasm!” – We do not see it as useful for the various institutions that rent premises there to hang banners as we want one unified research nation, says director of NP, Camilla Brekke, about why they said no to the banner. What happened at the commemoration was perceived as so special for the NP that a diplomatic aftermath followed. Appeared in military uniform Early on the morning of the anniversary day, a cruise ship docked in Ny-Ålesund. “It must be assumed that the disembarkation in Ny-Ålesund was coordinated with PRIC to coincide with the anniversary marking,” writes the Norwegian Polar Institute in the internal memo news has obtained access to. Waving flags and wearing stickers on their faces, the cruise tourists pulled up to the front door where the Chinese scientists are staying. This type of celebration, with national symbols, is, according to the note from NP, undesirable and an “unusual sight”. A man climbed onto a container with a long selfie stick and filmed what happened. This is shown in a video that news has seen of the incident. One of the passengers stood out in particular. In the middle of the train of people in red sweaters, there was a woman in a camouflage uniform. This is a new Chinese military uniform from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). – Not a military uniform The military uniform the woman was wearing is an official military uniform from 2023. This is what several sources tell news and RFA. Dr. Ying Yu Lin is an assistant professor at Tamkang University in New Taipei City in Taiwan. Here he is researching, among other things, the People’s Liberation Army. He says the woman is wearing a “Type 21” training uniform which in Chinese is called “21式作训服”. This was put into use by China’s Ministry of Defense in 2023. Here it is pictured on the Chinese Ministry of Defense’s website: Facsimile / Ministry of National Defense of the People’s Republic of China – The armband on her arm matches the armband of the People’s Liberation Army, Dr. Lin tells news and RFA. He also emphasizes that it is strictly forbidden for non-military personnel to wear this type of uniform. Photos from Chinese official websites also show that the “Type 21” uniform is identical to the one worn by the woman in the cruise party. The report from the Norwegian Polar Institute also points out that the mark on the cap and on the arm is used by the People’s Liberation Army in China. However, the Chinese Polar Institute denies this. – The outfit she was wearing is a regular camouflage jacket, not a military uniform, they write in an email to news. news has investigated several videos from Chinese social media in collaboration with RFA. In one of them, published by the Chinese tour operator Newayer, which organized the cruise to Ny-Ålesund, the woman says that she is a veteran of the People’s Liberation Army. So do seven other cruise tourists in the party. In the video, they perform a military salute on deck while a patriotic song plays in the background. At the front of the line is the woman who wore the military uniform during the commemoration at “Yellow River Station”. According to Lin, being able to show Chinese veterans waving the national flag in the Arctic could work as effective propaganda. – Within China, it symbolizes influence in a geopolitically significant region, he says. Lin says that in this way China is testing the limits of how far they can go. – Demonstration of the country’s Arctic ambitions At the front door of the building where the Chinese researchers are staying, a TV screen had been set up. It showed the Chinese polar research activity on loop, with Chinese speech and text. “When you also look at how it was set up for photographing the crowd in front of the building and when you look at how the photography was carried out, it is likely that the photos will be used by the Chinese authorities”, the note from the Norwegian Polar Institute states. China has been clear that it has ambitions for an increased presence in the northern regions. In 2018, they even decided to declare themselves a so-called near-Arctic state, in their Arctic strategy. The station on Svalbard plays an important role in China’s Arctic research. This research has also recently come under the scrutiny of an American congressional committee. They express concern about China’s growing influence and access to strategically important areas in the Arctic, according to the American newspaper Newsweek. Marc Lanteigne, who is professor of political science at UiT, points out that everything China does in Svalbard are proven actions. He is an expert on China’s Arctic interests. – When we talk about Russia and China, we are talking about authoritarian states. This means that there really are no completely independent organisations, he says. – All activity, no matter how civilian in nature, will result in information that eventually reaches the military, he says. According to Lanteigne, who last visited Ny-Ålesund this summer, it is well known that the Norwegian authorities do not want flags from the various nations outside the research stations. – You must keep national symbols to an absolute minimum. Lanteigne believes that China has already broken this protocol when they originally established the station. Then two lions were placed outside “Yellow River Station”. – These two lions were obviously very provocative. Most other stations had to make do with a small sign, he says. It was precisely these lions that several of the cruise tourists posed next to during the commemoration in July, says the note news has obtained access to. Says it was completely accidental with military personnel on board The Chinese Polar Institute has not answered why they hung up the banner even though NP said no. – Why did the marking take place? – As far as we know, the people you mention were tourists visiting Svalbard, writes the Chinese Polar Institute in an email to news. They further write that it is not unusual for cruise tourists to visit Ny-Ålesund. news and RFA have been in contact with the tour operator Newayer, who organized the cruise. According to general manager Fan Li, they had coordinated the visit to “Yellow River Station” with the Chinese Polar Institute. The flags and stickers were something the tour operator says they had brought. – The employees at Yellow River Station came out to talk to us, and all very happy about it, says general manager Fan Li. Li says that it is completely coincidental that there were many with a military background on board. Notified other authorities Director of the Norwegian Polar Institute Camilla Brekke says that the marking was “so sensational” that they felt compelled to notify further. – This case, with a person in uniform who we believe belongs to the People’s Liberation Army, was so special that we chose to inform other Norwegian authorities about it, she says. The Norwegian Polar Institute also followed up the unexpected celebration by sending a letter to the Chinese Polar Institute. – We were then met with an explanation that they had a transition between the former and current manager, and that there was a failure in communication. We were also assured that they would follow the guidelines and instructions that apply to research in Ny-Ålesund, says Brekke. Camilla Brekke is director at the Norwegian Polar Institute. Photo: Pål Hansen Called the embassy onto the carpet This had consequences. On 3 September, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOF) called the Chinese embassy in Oslo on the carpet after the anniversary marking at “Yellow River Station”. During the meeting, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed the Chinese embassy about expectations for the Chinese research delegation as a tenant in Ny-Ålesund. – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also stressed that all activities in Ny-Ålesund must be civilian, writes Martine Røiseland in a reply to news, on behalf of both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Røisland writes that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also asked for an explanation as to why “a person in a military-like uniform” was present at the commemoration. – The embassy’s explanation indicates that this was a private person or cruise tourist who wore military-like clothing because it was appropriate clothing in the arctic wilderness, she writes. The Chinese embassy in Oslo writes to news that the tourists came on their own. – According to what we know, the cruise passengers you mention belong to a private tourist group that has traveled to Svalbard on their own. They do not have any official background, they write in an e-mail to news. news and RFA have tried to contact the woman in military uniform, but have not succeeded in getting any comment. This is the Svalbard Treaty International agreement, signed on 9 February 1920 and entered into force on 14 August 1925. Establishes Norway’s “full and unrestricted sovereignty” over Svalbard, including Bjørnøya, and that Norwegian laws and regulations apply to the area. Citizens and companies from all treaty countries have equal rights to entry and residence. They must be able to carry out fishing, trapping and all kinds of commercial activities on equal terms. All activities are subject to the legislation adopted by the Norwegian authorities, but no one can be treated differently on the basis of nationality. Taxes, fees and charges collected shall not exceed what is required to cover the expenses of administration of Svalbard. Svalbard is Norwegian territory, the Atlantic Pact therefore applies to the archipelago. In peacetime, there are no permanent military bases here. During the Second World War, there was a Norwegian garrison on Svalbard for a period. The treaty has today been ratified by 44 countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, India, Iceland, Italy, Japan, China , Lithuania, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Korea, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Sweden, South Africa, South Korea, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, USA, Venezuela and Austria. Source: NTB Hello!Through the international project “Hidden Front” we investigate Chinese influence and dependence in Norway, the Arctic and Northern Europe. We work with colleagues in many countries to look more closely at, among other things, espionage and technology theft, but also acquisitions, disinformation and propaganda. We have written about a Chinese journalist who also worked in Norway being deported for life from Sweden following espionage charges, about the traces of a massive cyber breach in the Volkswagen group pointing to China, and revealed that the large Chinese shipping giant Cosco, as Norwegian security authorities warn mot, has been in dialogue and meetings with the Port of Kirkenes about access to the port. Did you think of anything when you read, or do you have input on this or other issues we should investigate? Feel free to send us an e-mail. You can also send us input, tips and information encrypted and secure via news’s extra secure notification reception – see how you can use news’s Secure Drop here. Inghild Eriksen, Ingrid Hjellbakk Kvamstø and Håvard Gulldahl JournalistsSend us an e- post Published 07.11.2024, at 12.04 Updated 07.11.2024, at 12.11
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Posed in Chinese military uniform on Svalbard to celebrate China’s research in the Arctic – news Troms and Finnmark
