Norway Claims Russia, China Strengthening Intelligence Activities Against Oslo - Reports

Faizan Hashmi Published February 11, 2019 | 07:23 PM

The Norwegian Intelligence Service believes that Russian and Chinese security services are stepping up reconnaissance activities against the Nordic state, local media reported on Monday, citing the agency's report

MURMANSK (Russia) (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th February, 2019) The Norwegian Intelligence Service believes that Russian and Chinese security services are stepping up reconnaissance activities against the Nordic state, local media reported on Monday, citing the agency's report.

According to VG newspaper, the report suggested that Russia and China might conduct complex offensive operations on the internet, stressing that the two countries were allegedly continuing to develop their intelligence capacities. The report, in particular, asserted that Russia was increasingly working with so-called fake news as a means of exerting pressure on Oslo.

Speaking about the reasons for the Russian and Chinese intelligence services' increased intelligence efforts against Norway, the report suggested that the country interested Beijing and Moscow as an Arctic state.

The report's authors specified that they expected the pressure on Norway to continue in 2019.

Moreover, the report renewed allegations of Russia impeding the work of the Norwegian Global Positioning System (GPS).

Between late October and early November, NATO's Trident Juncture military drills, held in several northern European countries, including Norway and Finland, were overshadowed by several incidents in which pilots reported losing GPS signals.

On November 13, the Norwegian Defense Ministry issued a statement blaming Russia for the disruption of GPS navigation signals. Finland also alleged that Russia could be responsible for jamming the signal. Moscow has denied the allegations, and Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has noted the existing trend of accusing Russia of "various deadly sins," saying that such accusations were, as a rule, unfounded.