Leaked document shows FSB refers to China as an enemy and serious threat to its security:
- China tries to recruit Russian scientists
- Wants intel on Ukraine war, particularly performance of Western weapons systems
- Targets Russian scientists, pilots, and experts in specific fields such as aviation, aerohydrodynamics, control systems and aeroelasticity
- Interested in Wagner mercenaries' experience
- Worried China will make claims on Russian territory
1. Even if the document in question wasn't
materially altered or outright fabricated as a part of a state-sponsored disinformation campaign, it should be pretty obvious to any observer — who is even somewhat informed — as to who would have access to such a
leaked document (e.g. CIA/NSA, SIS/GCHQ, GUR/SBU), and why they would be motivated to disclose it to the New York Times.
2. The Russian intelligence community is not a singular organism or exactly small compared to those of most nations, and naturally it's constituent elements — never mind individual experts and authorities — are going to have all sorts of views and perspectives.
Some of those takes will inevitably diverge significantly from widely accepted narratives and well established policies that dictate how Moscow actually behaves.
3. To be fair, the Russian intelligence community, and more broadly speaking, the Russian national security establishment is subject to a great deal of
savage, if not occasionally
dysfunctional levels of competition.
The "aviation accident" that killed Yevgeny Prigozhin and some of his
esteemed colleagues is both a recent and visible example of such competition. Such intense internal competition also tends to incentivize the creation and dissemination of narratives that may or may not reasonably reflect reality.
I obviously wouldn't know, but it's perfectly possible that this document was politicized analysis built upon embellished reporting intended to convince higher ups that a specific program ought to be allocated more funding.
In this sense, some Russian elites aren't too different from their American counterparts.
4. The Chinese and Russian intelligence communities are known to collaborate on certain shared objectives. However, that doesn't mean there isn't going to be competition. If the Americans spy on Israel and NATO allies like Germany and France, the Chinese are going to spy on the Russians and Pakistanis, and obviously it works the other way too.
Generally speaking, the only countries that the US isn't
really supposed to spy on due to existing agreements are FIVEYE countries like the UK and Canada, but that is also the case because London and Ottawa will follow Washington's lead, if not commands, on most, if not
almost all defense and security issues of mutual concern (Ukraine being one of a few exceptions, but also the most prominent counterexample).
Not to say the US doesn't spy on FIVEYE countries at all, but there isn't much of a need for the CIA or NSA to spy on those countries when they can literally just ask their British, Canadian or Australian counterparts to investigate their own citizens and officials, and report back should something appear amiss.
So if there ever comes a day when Beijing decides to effectively stop spying on Moscow because their relationship has reached a similar level of proximity, then Washington is going to have a
much, much bigger problem to worry about.
