Fentanyl, Espionage, Sabotage: The Chinese Web Tightened Around Our Vital Points

National security has been brutally redefined. It's no longer just about defense and intelligence, but an expanded battlefield encompassing economic resilience, technological sovereignty, and institutional integrity. In this toxic scenario, a virulent threat emerges: the ability to repurpose civilian infrastructure for military and intelligence objectives. This practice, as recent conflicts starkly demonstrate, has devastating strategic implications. The industrialization of cyber espionage, ruthlessly targeting commercial companies and universities alike, is a clear sign of this dangerous shift. But it's in the control of both physical and digital infrastructure, broadly defined, that the risk becomes truly horrifying, with China at the forefront of this faceless aggression.

Credit Extrema Ratio

Recent conflicts offer a raw and terrifying demonstration of how dual-use civilian infrastructure can be transformed into platforms for clandestine military operations. The Ukrainian army's "Spider" operation, involving drones launched from anonymous containers to strike deep within Russian territory, is a prime example of this insidious tactic. Similarly, reports that Israel employed similar methods, smuggling explosive drones into Iran via cargo transport, further underscore the perverse versatility and potential threat inherent in this approach. These incidents reveal a reality where the line between civilian infrastructure and military capabilities has been deliberately blurred, opening the door to scenarios where control over crucial logistical nodes can confer decisive strategic advantages without the slightest need for a formal military presence.

But the most insidious threat emerges when these tactics aren't isolated but integrated into a well-orchestrated power projection strategy by a nation that doesn't hesitate to bend every resource to its geopolitical ends. And this is where China enters the picture, with an aggression and systematic approach that should shock every Western capital from its slumber.

China's Power Projection: Critical Infrastructure and the Perversion of "Military-Civil Fusion"

China is projecting its power overseas with unprecedented ferocity and systematic intent, leveraging a vast network of infrastructure—from ports to the nerve centers of capital cities—that provides crucial logistical and intelligence support for its global expansion. The numbers speak for themselves, screaming: in 2022, Chinese companies owned or operated terminals in 96 ports across 53 countries. Even more chilling is the fact that in at least nine of these ports—including strategically relevant ones in Europe—significant repair or maintenance operations have been conducted for vessels and equipment belonging to the PLA (People's Liberation Army) Navy. Visits by Chinese military ships are not innocent shows of force; they are calculated indicators, revealing areas of influence, priority operational zones, intelligence collection objectives, and cooperation priorities.

The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLA Navy) isn't merely relying on overt military means; it exploits a network of legal and operational tools to ensure that Chinese civilian vessels and infrastructure can be brutally repurposed for military and security objectives abroad. This is the poisonous pillar of China's "military-civil fusion" strategy, a perverse mechanism that grants the PLA unprecedented access to foreign infrastructure, enabling it to pre-position essential logistical support for global naval deployments, and much more. This fusion is intrinsically linked to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which, far from being solely an economic project, proves to be a vehicle for China's strategic expansion, with state-owned enterprises acting as tentacles of the CCP and the PLA.

A stark example of this alarming escalation is China's recent acquisition of the deep-water port of Anaklia in Georgia, which grants it a stable presence in the Black Sea and, consequently, access to the Mediterranean. But Beijing's aggression doesn't stop at ports. Recently, on June 1, 2025, the New Urban Communities Administration of Egypt and the Sino-Egyptian joint venture Horizon Operations Management (Egypt) Co., Ltd. signed an implementation agreement for the management of the Central Business District (CBD) of Egypt's New Administrative Capital. While the name suggests a commercial focus, this district will also house the Egyptian Parliament, the Presidential Palace, various government buildings, and numerous embassies. The involvement of CSCEC, a Chinese state-owned company notoriously linked to the CCP and its geopolitical agenda, in managing such critical Egyptian infrastructure is not a benign act of economic cooperation. On the contrary, it has far-reaching strategic and geopolitical implications. Control over a nerve center housing the heart of a sovereign nation's political and diplomatic power offers Beijing unprecedented opportunities for sensitive intelligence collection, political influence, and even potential sabotage in times of crisis. This penetration into vital government infrastructure is further proof of China's strategy to project power through infiltration and control, extending far beyond just ports. Similarly, on June 27, 2025, China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) secured the contract to expand Jamaica's Kingston port, another strategic node for monitoring Western naval movements.

Alarm explodes when Chinese civilian commercial activities nestle in logistical hubs near the host state's naval bases, exponentially increasing the risks of espionage and sabotage. Chinese commercial infrastructure abroad are not autonomous or innocuous entities; they are the claws of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), tools serving Beijing's objectives to expand its influence over third countries and stifle geopolitical rivals. The Chinese political and economic system, an implacable dictatorship directed by the party, mercilessly compels private enterprises to align their commercial interests with those of the CCP, including its military ambitions, repression, influence, and political interference. To this end, party cells are systematically employed within companies, including foreign ones, as instruments of direct control and monitoring—an internal spy network that undermines the sovereignty of host nations. This means that every piece of data, every communication, every logistical movement transiting through Chinese-managed infrastructure can be intercepted and exploited not only by the PLA but also by Beijing's civilian and military intelligence services, with devastating consequences for national security and global competitiveness. And as if that weren't enough, ports under Chinese control can inadvertently, or otherwise, become access points and distribution hubs for illicit substances like fentanyl, a threat that is devastating Western societies.

"Liminal Warfare": A Total, Borderless, and Ruthless Conflict

This strategy falls under the broader umbrella of "Liminal Warfare" that China has been waging for years: an incremental war, subtle and relentless, where the spectrum of competition and confrontation with the West is so vast that the battlefield is literally everywhere, and the war is total. In this distorted logic, the control of technological means, strategic infrastructure, and the most important global supply chains integrates "trans-military" and "non-military" warfare operations, as outlined in the notorious 1999 book, "Unrestricted Warfare." This aberrant doctrine illustrates how Beijing intends to achieve its strategic objectives through a diverse range of means, extending far beyond the traditional battlefield, infiltrating every aspect of global society and economy.

For all Western states, any form of participation by Chinese enterprises in national strategic resources, especially those directly or indirectly linked to the Chinese political-military or intelligence system, represents an unacceptable risk and a disguised act of aggression. This includes the looming threat of systematic espionage, the theft of technology, and the forced transfer of technological expertise to the PLA. The growing dependence on Chinese supplies, especially in key sectors like semiconductors and 5G technologies, creates a exploitable vulnerability for intelligence purposes or strategic disruptions. Not only physical security but also data security is severely compromised: with Chinese control of critical infrastructure, the transit and management of sensitive data become an invaluable source of intelligence for Beijing, undermining citizens' privacy and the security of government and corporate information.

It is for these reasons that Western nations must urgently increase implacable regulatory vigilance and introduce specific, thorough, and ruthless controls on individuals and legal entities with the slightest connection to the Chinese government. There is no more time for complacency.

Countermeasures: Protecting the West from Silent Aggression

The threat of China's "liminal warfare" is a looming and devastating reality. Western democracies can no longer afford the illusion of complacency. It is an imperative to recognize the pervasive and aggressive nature of Chinese ambitions and to act with unwavering determination to safeguard their sovereignty, security, and future. This demands concrete and coordinated countermeasures:

• Strategic Diversification: Drastically reduce dependence on Chinese supply chains, especially for critical technologies and raw materials.

• Vigilance and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Screening: Implement and strengthen rigorous screening mechanisms to evaluate Chinese investments in sensitive infrastructure and sectors.

• Intelligence Sharing: Enhance collaboration and intelligence sharing among Western intelligence and security agencies to monitor and counter Chinese operations, including risks related to illicit substance trafficking through controlled ports.

• Support for Alternative Initiatives: Promote and fund alternatives to the Belt and Road Initiative, offering partner countries sustainable and transparent development options.

• Strengthening Cyber Resilience: Invest massively in the protection of networks and data, particularly for critical infrastructure, to prevent cyber espionage and sabotage.

We are in an undeclared war, and the West must wake up and act urgently before it's too late.

Are we capable of defending our freedom and our values in the face of this creeping aggression?