Jeremy Fleming. Photo: AFP

When British gentlemen desperately badmouthed China's use of technology, losing their dignity and revealing their true hooligan nature, it's perhaps the most entertaining episode on today's international stage.  

Jeremy Fleming, head of Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), UK's electronic spy agency, on Tuesday accused China of trying to "rewrite the rules of international security," claiming China is using its economic and technological clout to clamp down at home and exert control abroad, AP reported. According to Fleming, the way China deploys emerging technology, from satellite systems such as BeiDou to digital currencies, could represent a "huge threat to us all." Fleming's planned speech comes after the head of the FBI and his British counterpart groundlessly accused China of using "every tool" to steal Western technology in July.  

This, of course, is utter nonsense. Concocting "China technological threat" theory has become one of the priorities of British and US intelligence agencies. It seems only by constantly fabricating and exaggerating the "security threat from China" can they demonstrate the value of their existence and obtain more funding and private interests.

Fleming, Britain's top cyber spy, talked rubbish. He singled out BeiDou, claiming the system could be used to block adversaries' access to space or bolster surveillance. We have to ask: Then what are the EU's Galileo system and US' GPS satellite system used for? Why can't China have its own navigation satellite system which will not only meet the demand of the country's national security, economic as well as social development but also better serve global users by providing more stable and reliable services?

"Countries, particularly the US and the UK, want to maintain their monopoly in the high-tech sector, so that they could be able to control the lifeline of future economic development and monopolize the tech advantages in emerging industries," Gao Jian, director of the Center for British Studies at Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times. 

As a matter of fact, the UK and US intelligence agencies' weaponization of technologies is truly the greatest security threat to the world. British commentator Tom Fowdy told the Global Times that "Fleming's claim is hypocritical projection from the UK. There are no other countries on earth who utilize technology for surveillance and coercive purposes than Britain and the United States as a part of the five eyes alliance." He further said China's goal is to utilize technology for its own development and progress, and not for far-reaching geopolitical or hegemonic ambitions. 

The US, the UK and some other Western countries have long been engaged in weaponizing technologies in spying and monitoring military enterprises, scientific research institutes, and government agencies of not only their deemed rivals but also allies. A cybersecurity report in June showed the US military and government cyber agencies had remotely stolen over 97 billion pieces of global internet data and 124 billion phone records over the past 30 days, which became a significant source of intelligence for the US, the UK and other "Five Eyes" countries. Earlier this month, the US National Security Agency was exposed after it launched a cyberattack and engaged in data theft against the Northwestern Polytechnical University in China.

The intelligence network created by the US and the UK is the source of evil in the world and the biggest threat to global security. "American and British intelligence agencies are going on a rampage in global cyberspace, conducting various attacks on other countries' cyber infrastructure and intercepting intelligence. They are robbers. Now these robbers accuse China, a victim of their attacks, of conspiring to control the world, on what grounds?" asked Shen Yi, a professor at the School of International Relations and Public Affairs of Fudan University. 

The US and the UK intelligence agencies have a bad record. Based on past facts, the US and the UK must have projected their own foul deeds and crimes onto China. "The Royal United Services Institute, as an old leading think tank in the UK, has allowed the insane rhetoric of the intelligence agency chief to come to the fore. Where is its basic ability to judge the quality of a speech?" asked Shen.