Belgian authorities said Saturday that a Canadian woman has been arrested on suspicion of espionage while working as an intern at the operational headquarters of the NATO military alliance.

Belgium’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office said it opened an espionage investigation after NATO security services alerted Belgian military intelligence. Authorities detained “a Canadian citizen of Chinese origin” on Friday, one day after searches were carried out at the suspect’s home and workplace inside NATO’s large command center.

“She is suspected of spying on behalf of a third country and of being a member of a criminal organization,” prosecutors said in a statement.

The Strategic Headquarters of the Allied Powers in Europe, known as SHAPE, is located in Mons, a city in southern Belgium near the French border. Military officials at SHAPE are responsible for planning and commanding joint strategy, tactics and operations. NATO’s political headquarters is in Brussels, where ambassadors from member countries meet to discuss issues including defense spending, drone incursions and cyber threats. NATO’s Cyber Security Centre is also based at SHAPE.

Because SHAPE is NATO’s top military command in Europe, any suspected security breach there is treated as especially sensitive, even when authorities say operations have not been affected. The headquarters supports allied military planning and coordination across member states, making access controls and counterintelligence procedures central to its day-to-day work.

Col. Martin L. O’Donnell, a spokesperson for SHAPE, said there was no indication that the incident had disrupted the alliance’s work.

“At this time, there is no indication that NATO or SHAPE operational readiness, command and control arrangements, or ongoing tasks have been adversely affected. SHAPE continues to fulfil its responsibilities without interruption,” O’Donnell said.

Canada and Belgium are both members of NATO, the 32-nation military alliance that in 2021 described China as a security challenge alongside active threats in Russia and the Middle East.

NATO leaders have said China is seeking to undermine the global order, expand its military in an opaque manner and conduct destabilizing disinformation campaigns. They said Beijing’s goals and “assertive behavior present systemic challenges to the rules-based international order and to areas relevant to alliance security.”

The Chinese government rejected that statement and said its military buildup was defensive.

The arrest comes as NATO faces a difficult period marked by sharp criticism from President Donald Trump, who has reduced the U.S. security role in Europe. Trump has urged allies to increase defense spending and join the conflict in Iran, while also threatening to seize Greenland by force from NATO member Denmark, a position that unsettled European governments and the alliance.

Last year, after pressure from Trump, all 32 NATO nations agreed to invest 5% of gross domestic product in defense. The agreement allocated 3.5% of GDP to defense items such as jets and missiles, and 1.5% to infrastructure, including roads, bridges and ports, as well as cybersecurity. The cybersecurity allocation underscores how the alliance increasingly treats digital resilience, secure infrastructure and military readiness as linked priorities.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com