Tri-Service

Espionage Charge For Hinkley Point Chinese Firm

CGNPC, the China General Nuclear Power Group, which has a 33% stake in the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, has been charged with stealing nuclear secrets in the US.

The proposed nuclear power station, in Somerset, is one of eight announced by the British government in 2010. With a projected lifetime of 60 years, it's expected to cost £18 billion to build.

According to the Guardian, both nuclear engineer Allen Ho, who works for CGNPC and holds dual US-Chinese residency, and the company itself, have been accused of stealing US nuclear technology to use within China.

Assistant US attorney general John P Carlin has said:

"Allen Ho, at the direction of a Chinese state-owned nuclear power company allegedly approached and enlisted US-based nuclear experts to provide integral assistance in developing and producing special nuclear material in China".

Ho is alleged to have pursued these activities without authorisation from the US Department of Energy.

Carlin has described the evasion of US law and attainment of sensitive nuclear technology as a matter of national security.

Theresa May is thought to have reservations about China being so intricately involved in providing a part of the UK's vital infrastructure, and it's been suggested that this might at least partially explain why she has delayed the Hinkley Point project.

The accusations against the company are being made at the same time that Australia has announced plans to block Chinese involvement in its national grid, also on security grounds.

According to the Associated Press, some security analysts in Australia have said that a Chinese-controlled Ausgrid could become vulnerable to being shut down by cyber-attack.

Hackers linked to Russia are said to have used a co-ordinated attack to take down part of western Ukraine's power grid last December, blacking out more than 225,000 people after hitting regional electric power distribution companies, something that has had serious national security reverberations in other countries.

More: What Would A Cyber Attack On The UK Be Like?

Chinese foreign investment, particularly from state-owned companies, has also become increasingly contentious in Australia because of Beijing's more assertive stance in territorial disputes in the South China Sea.