A Canadian woman of Chinese origin has been arrested on spying charges while working as an intern at NATO's operational headquarters in Belgium. Belgian authorities detained the suspect on Friday after raiding her home and her workplace inside the alliance's operational command center.
The Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office stated that the woman is suspected of spying on behalf of a third country and of being a member of a criminal organization. The espionage investigation was launched following a tip-off from NATO’s security services to Belgium’s military intelligence.
The suspect was an intern at SHAPE, the strategic headquarters located in the Belgian city of Mons near the French border. Military officials at SHAPE are responsible for planning and commanding joint strategy, tactics, and operations.
While Belgian authorities did not name the specific country for which the woman was allegedly spying, both Canada and Belgium are members of the 32-nation military alliance. In 2021, NATO labeled China a security challenge alongside active threats in Russia and the Middle East.