Ex-national security advisor to ‘Post’: Israel needs to review China deals

(Worthy News) – In news stories that were scarcely noted last year, Prof. Avi Shimhon, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s top economic advisor, and Meir Ben Shabbat, Israel’s National Security Advisor, were reportedly instructed to develop a mechanism to assess the threat of strategic investment by external actors in Israel’s critical infrastructure. Their task was described as a run-of-the-mill bureaucratic one. But it was clear that Israel’s leadership was reassessing foreign strategic investment in the state, including Chinese plans for the reconstruction and operation of the state’s largest seaport in Haifa.

This move was long overdue. The decision to work with China on the Haifa port has already rankled US decision makers and has reportedly alarmed the Pentagon. Indeed, there are rumors that the US Navy may no longer dock its vessels in Haifa if the China deal goes through.

China is one of the Pentagon’s top concerns these days. Beijing has global ambitions. In addition to its increasing activity on the South China Sea, it has launched new economic and political initiatives like One Belt One Road, which is designed to grant the Chinese a foothold in countries stretching from central Asia all the way to the Levant. Furthermore, Israel’s critical infrastructure programs and facilities have become important to China in recent years. [ Source: Jerusalem Post (Read More…) ]

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