{"id":836661,"date":"2026-07-30T20:38:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T20:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/836661\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T20:38:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T20:38:08","slug":"canadian-nato-intern-arrested-for-espionage-is-suspected-of-spying-for-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/836661\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian NATO intern arrested for espionage is suspected of spying for China"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

A NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey on July 7. NATO\u2019s 2022 Strategic Concept document notes that China poses ‘systemic challenges’ to Euro-Atlantic security.Hussein Malla\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n

Belgian authorities suspect a Canadian NATO intern arrested on suspicion of espionage was working for China, according to two sources with knowledge of the case.<\/p>\n

In announcing her arrest on Saturday, Belgian prosecutors said the woman worked at NATO\u2019s military headquarters in the city of Mons and was a \u201cCanadian national of Chinese origin\u201d suspected of spying for a third country and belonging to a criminal organization.<\/p>\n

They did not name the country or the organization. But the two sources, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a confidential investigation, told Reuters the country under suspicion was China.<\/p>\n

The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment faxed outside business hours. The Chinese embassy in Brussels did not immediately reply to an e-mailed request for comment.<\/p>\n

RCMP pledge to support Belgian investigation into alleged NATO spy<\/a><\/p>\n

NATO\u2019s 2022 Strategic Concept document, the foundation of the military alliance\u2019s policies, says China poses \u201csystemic challenges\u201d to Euro-Atlantic security. In response, China\u2019s foreign ministry accused NATO of groundless accusations, smears and attacks.<\/p>\n

A security source said the woman, identified as Claire Z, is in her 30s and not a student. She arrived in Mons about a year ago to start her internship with NATO\u2019s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, or SHAPE, where she worked in the IT department, the source also said.<\/p>\n

She registered in Belgium as single without children, the source said.<\/p>\n

Zhang did not immediately reply to messages sent to social media accounts matching her description. She has not made any public comment on the allegations against her, nor has any lawyer acting on her behalf.<\/p>\n

Ottawa vetted NATO intern arrested on suspicion of espionage<\/a><\/p>\n

According to a LinkedIn profile that the source confirmed was that of the suspect, Claire Z. previously worked at the European Space Agency and the World Trade Organisation.<\/p>\n

Asked about the case, the ESA said a position with the agency does not require a personal security clearance but it applies its standard human resources screening procedures. They referred to Belgian authorities for further questions. The WTO did not immediately reply to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, prosecutors said Z.\u2019s pretrial detention had been extended by one month. A spokesperson said on Thursday that Zhang had appealed the decision, with a ruling on the appeal expected within the next two weeks.<\/p>\n

Responsibility for conducting security checks on NATO interns lies with their countries of origin, which in this case was Canada.<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s Minister of Public Safety Gary Anandasangaree said earlier this week that authorities would review the country\u2019s security screening process, adding it was important \u201cto get to the bottom of what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

SHAPE reported the suspect to Belgian intelligence after observing her behaviour, according to Belgium\u2019s prosecutors\u2019 office. A SHAPE spokesperson has said there was no indication the incident had affected NATO\u2019s operational readiness, command and control, or ongoing missions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: A NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey on July 7. NATO\u2019s 2022 Strategic Concept…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":836662,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,44,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-836661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-news","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=836661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/836662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=836661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=836661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=836661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}