The Central News Agency (CNA) reported this Tuesday that a website controlled by CCP-aligned overseas Chinese community organizations in Hungary recently circulated information claiming that Taiwan’s Military Intelligence Bureau (MIB) has cooperated with relevant Dutch agencies on intelligence gathering. Dutch experts on China say it is a typical united front tactic and a deliberate attempt to warn the Netherlands and other European countries not to cooperate with Taiwan.

Rumors online claimed that MIB officials traveled to the Netherlands in May to exchange information with local officials. On December 3, the MIB issued a press release stating that the content was distorted and inconsistent with the facts; the National Security Bureau has since initiated an online source-tracing operation and found that the earliest known dissemination originated from an account that had only been used once. 

One of the Netherlands’ leading newspapers, De Volkskrant, quoted Dutch China expert Sense Hofstede as saying that the source of this information is undoubtedly China. Hofstede said he believes Beijing not only wishes to retaliate over the Nexperia incident and the proactive stance of Dutch government agencies, but also attempts to warn all European countries that they are watching.

In September, the Dutch government announced it would take over Nexperia, a semiconductor company owned by a Chinese firm, citing risks to national economic security. China and the Netherlands have since clashed over the incident, and the dispute remains unresolved.

According to De Volkskrant, University of Leiden researcher Susanne Kamerling said the operation combines “smear campaigns and counterintelligence,” adding that the timing of the release is especially of note and that it appears to be part of a series of measures by China to retaliate against and put political pressure on the Netherlands.

It is still unclear whether the Dutch government will pursue diplomatic action in response to China’s provocation. The Chinese embassy in the Hague has not responded to related inquiries.