Anti-Espionage Activities

[updated] Beijing State Broadcaster CCTV reported that a young Chinese man was detained recently for involvement in a row of spying activities, to gather intelligence on military assets, in particular on Beijing’s aircraft carrier.

2. The man identified only as “Cao” was said from the eastern city of Qingdao and currently on no bail detention, while waiting for trial. According to the informed source, Cao had snapped photos of an aircraft carrier base in Qingdao for an unknown man, who had claimed to be the editor of a military magazine. Earlier, he was seen in military airport with camera.

3. Beijing counter-intelligence circle also has reported that lately unemployed and computer savvy young Chinese have been targeted by foreign espionage and intelligence agencies as a source of recruitment to gather information on Beijing’s military assets and installations. The young and unemployed Chinese were without doubt influenced by cash rewards and they are completely prepared to execute the handler’s instruction without second thought.

4. It seems, in China state secret law is notoriously broad, covering everything from industry data to the exact birth dates of state leaders. The theft of state secrets is punishable either with life imprisonment or the death penalty. 

Opinion 

5. Intelligence and Espionage activities were said among the oldest industry in the world. People need the information to make a right decision. Businessmen will prefer to get some info on what their business rivalries, as well as business partners are doing. State authority wishes to know what their neighbour countries have in their planning for the country. State intelligence will be carving for the information on what others are doing for the internal and external analysis of the security of the state. In fact, Mossad says that all the diplomats are the state agents, who are looking for the information to be sent home.

6. China, an emerging economy and military power has never revealed the actual spending on the military assets. While Beijing says they spent almost 10 percent to 12 percent of the GDP but researcher predicted that Beijing most likely spending up to 25 percent of the country GDP to build-up its military capability. The real data can only be verified through the intelligence activities.

7. But the main reason for the espionage activities was not to understand the spending of the state on its military sectors, but to forecast its military capability and the counter-strategy that could be taken to defeat the state, if two competing states decided to go to war.

8. Espionage activities were not only committed by certain countries, but almost all the state does have their own intelligence sectors carving for information. In other words, spying activities occur almost in every corner of the state. 

9. China as an emerging powerhouse, both economic and military have its own division of intelligence, who run the espionage activities in third country. Researchers believe Beijing has deployed vast numbers of its operators to ASEAN member countries to secure data for their security analysis, in particular, on the state response pertaining to the overlapping claims in South China Sea, economic status of the state, bilateral and military relationship with third country, particularly the US and its allies, as well as the states’ military capability.

10. I’m of the opinion, the art of the intelligence is not only depends on the capability to secure the data from the third country, but most important is to secure the entire intelligence network from being detected by targeted country.

11. One piece of advise: intelligence circles need to intensify the anti-espionage activities committed by foreign powers in our soil. #