Buried in the trove of secret intelligence documents known as “The Spy Cables” obtained by Al Jazeera and The Guardian is a passing reference to allegations Chinese spies broke into a South African nuclear facility in 2007. Interestingly, this was the only mention of Chinese espionage in Africa during the period covered in the “Spy Cables” documents from 2006 through the end 2014. Eric and Cobus discuss why it might be that the “Cables” reveal that other intelligence services are seemingly more active in covert intelligence in Africa than the Chinese: “just because you don’t see them, doesn’t mean they aren’t there.”
Recommendations
- “Spy Cables: ‘China Behind S Africa Nuclear Break-ins’,” Will Jordan, Al Jazeera, February 25, 2015
- “The Spy Cables: A Glimpse Into the Murky World of Espionage,” Al Jazeera, February 2015