Concerns prompt ‘review’ of Shanghai agreement within Israel’s inner security cabinet, sources say.
WASHINGTON
– The US Navy has acknowledged that its longstanding operations in Haifa may
change once a Chinese firm takes over the civilian port in 2021, prompting
Israel’s national security cabinet to revisit the arrangement, The
Jerusalem Post has learned.
Haifa, the nation’s largest port city, regularly hosts joint US-Israeli naval drills and visits from American vessels. But a 2015 agreement between Israel’s Transportation Ministry and Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) – a company in which the Chinese government has a majority stake – has raised intelligence and security concerns that are only now prompting an interagency review.
That
agreement granted SIPG control over the port for 25 years. The Chinese company
has committed $2 billion to the project and, according to state-run media,
plans to transform the port’s bay terminal into the largest harbor in the
country.
A
representative of the Sixth Fleet said the navy’s partnership with Israel
remains “steadfast.”
“Our
US Navy ships frequently visit Haifa, Israel, for both US-Israel bilateral
military activity and port calls,” Commander Kyle Raines told the Post, when
asked whether China’s coming presence might affect fleet operations in the
Mediterranean city.
“For
now, there are no changes to our operations in Israel,” the commander
continued. “I can’t speculate on what might or might not occur in 2021.”
Three
sources familiar with the matter said that due to concerns that US defense
officials privately shared with their Israeli counterparts, the Israeli
government has launched “a review of the agreement at a high level,”
specifically among members of the inner cabinet.
According
to one source, several members expressed worry that sensitive infrastructure
matters have not been properly vetted by Israel’s full national security
cabinet prior to approval.
“You
don’t want a decision that was made ostensibly for business reasons to have an
impact on Israel’s relationship with the American navy,” the source said.
The
deal was signed off by Israel Katz, who was serving as transportation minister
at the time and has remained in the position since. He occupies a seat in the
national security cabinet.
A
senior IDF officer confirmed that the review is under way. But it is unclear
whether Israel has any recourse to allay US concerns with the China project,
which is already sealed and in motion.
“Historically,
it’s interesting to see [that] the whole awakening is now when the contract was
signed in 2015 – it begs the question what the hype is all about. It’s probably
more conducive now because of the US-China tensions over trade, national
security and the like,” said Assaf Orion, a retired Israeli brigadier-general
and expert on Israel-China relations now based at the Washington Institute for
Near East Policy. “There is always a question of encouraging investment versus
managing risk.”
“The
bottom line here is that Israel will make a fatal mistake by doing either or
both of the following: disregarding China’s potential to advance Israel’s
economy, and doing it with our eyes shut,” Orion continued. “We must keep our eyes
open, fully aware of the risk management requirements and its possible impact
on the US-Israel relationship.”
Retired
Israeli and American defense and intelligence officials raised concerns
throughout the summer that Chinese management of the port might jeopardize
America’s operations there.
The former head of Israel’s Mossad, Efraim Halevy, sounded an alarm in recent months over the security implications of China’s creeping presence across Israel’s critical infrastructure. And retired admiral Gary Roughead, ex-chief of US naval operations, warned that a Chinese-run seaport in the bay could force the navy to dock its warships elsewhere.
“The
Chinese port operators will be able to monitor closely US ship movements, be
aware of maintenance activity and could have access to equipment moving to and
from repair sites and interact freely with our crews over protracted periods,”
Roughead remarked during a conference last month at the University of Haifa.
“Significantly,
the information systems and new infrastructure integral to the ports and the
likelihood of information and electronic surveillance systems jeopardize US
information and cybersecurity,” he added.
Israel
has its own security concerns in Haifa to consider as well. The seaport in
question is not far from an Israeli navy base where the country maintains its
fleet of submarines, which foreign press has reported are capable of carrying
and launching nuclear missiles. Domestic critics say that China’s shipping
operations in close proximity to the fleet amount to an unacceptable security
risk.
This
would not be the first time that the Sixth Fleet altered its operations in
Haifa due to security concerns. In the aftermath of the USS Cole bombing in
Yemen in 2000, and during the Second Intifada, the frequency of port calls fell
dramatically and USO Haifa was permanently shuttered.
But
neither of those events were within Israeli government control.
The
Prime Minister’s Office, Transportation Ministry and Foreign Ministry declined
requests for comment on this report.
***Herb
Keinon contributed to this report