By Aaron Miller-
China approved the provision of lethal aid to Russia for its war in Ukraine but wanted any shipments to remain a secret, according to a leaked US government documents.
A top-secret intelligence summary dated 23 February states that Beijing had approved the incremental provision of weapons to Moscow, to be disguises as civilian items, according to a report in the Washington Post.
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The intelligence was gathered by US agents eavesdropping on Russia’s secret service discussions, the newspaper reported. The Russians said China’s central military commission wanted the shipments to remain secret, it added.
A US intercept of Russian intelligence included in the leaked documents reveals China approved the “provision of lethal aid” to Moscow and planned to disguise military equipment as civilian items.
A February 23, 2023, US intelligence summary , based on eavesdropping on Russia’s foreign intelligence service – said China’s central military commission had “approved the incremental provision” of weapons and wanted it kept secret.
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According to the Washington Post, a document titled The Watch Report is labelled top secret with highly restricted distribution and has information on China labelled “BEIJING”.
Information on China supplying lethal weapons appears in the document was allegedly prepared by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Quote: “Beijing reportedly approves covert shipments of lethal aid to Russia,” says the subheading of the document based on, according to The Washington Post, intercepted intelligence of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation.
The revelations are part of top secret US military documents that continue to surface and contain sensitive state secrets, which include details of Ukraine’s preparation for a spring offensive and suggest the United States has been spying on its allies.
The Pentagon has confirmed the documents “appear to contain sensitive and highly classified material”, but stated at least some have been doctored.
A separate intelligence file in the trove of leaked documents said Beijing would consider a “significant” Ukrainian strike with US or Nato weapons on Russian territory as an escalation of the conflict that would merit sending arms to Russia.
The files were part of a large batch of leaked classified documents that appeared on the online platform Discord last month.
On Friday, Jack Teixeira, the 21-year-old accused of leaking the documents, will appear in court in Boston. US officials have said that the documents are authentic and contain highly sensitive information, although some appear to have been doctored.
Beijing has vigorously denied the accusation, and there is no evidence to support its validity besides the fact the were found on leaked documents. No weapons have actually been sent.
However, a number of analysts consider the claim in the documents to be very plausible, with some calling for a keen eye to be kept on developments with China.
On Friday, China’s foreign minister, Qin Gang, said his country would not provide arms to either side of the conflict, and would also restrict the export of dual-use technology.
China, like Russia, is critical of Nato and has suggested that the conflict was provoked at least in part by the bloc’s expansion.
Beijing has expressed a desire to mediate a political settlement to the war, but Xi Jinping’s unarguable allegiance to Vladimir Putin is seen as a major barrier to any potential of mediation from a country whose observation of Human Rights Laws is atrocious.
Russia has been increasingly minimised by the forces of The U.S and NATO, following the multiple sanctioning of many Russian Oligarch since the war broke out.
NATO and the U.S have longed pledge a determination to win the war.
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