Military enthusiasts in China who have taken a keen interest in the evolving capabilities of the People's Liberation Army have been warned that they face prison time for posting pictures of the country's newest weapons systems online.
"It is a cool hobby, but be careful!" China's State Security Ministry said on Saturday in a social media post that national security agents had in recent years "uncovered a number of criminal cases of military enthusiasts secretly photographing sensitive military equipment."
The announcement by China's spy agency highlights the seriousness with which Chinese authorities are now treating the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information. It comes amid a broader effort by Beijing to safeguard national security, both offline and online.
It also could significantly curtail open-source intelligence analysis, one of the only credible windows into the opaque and highly securitized state built by Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
The ministry's warning to "military fans" said certain individuals who illegally obtained sensitive information did so for personal gain—to show off or gain online traffic. But the information spread across the internet, where it was used by "people with ulterior motives to cause serious harm to national military security," it said.
The agency said these enthusiasts targeted military installations such as airports and harbors as well as defense and military-industrial facilities.
"Some drove there specifically, or purposely took ferries or airplanes on nearby routes. Using professional equipment such as telephoto lenses and drones, they continually photographed in secret and were ultimately sanctioned by the law," it said.
Recent examples of the activity now frowned upon by Chinese authorities included aerial photographs of the PLA Navy's latest aircraft carrier, the Fujian, which was pictured testing a new system to launch next-generation fighter aircraft.
The images appeared to be taken from a passenger plane in Shanghai that overflew the shipyard where the Fujian was undergoing fitting out.
"The development cycle of new military equipment, especially large surface ships such as aircraft carriers, is relatively long," said the State Security Ministry.
"Hostile external forces who analyze individual personal photos and other relative information can accurately surmise the manufacturing progress of military equipment, estimate and assess the timeline for commissioning into service and reaching combat effectiveness, and use this as a reference to prepare countermeasures," it said.
Revealing the locations of troop deployments or the technical specifications of certain advanced weaponry was equally risky, the ministry said.
While Beijing can do little about satellite imagery, which when viewed over time can tell its own story, the Chinese security service said photographers who knowingly break the law face criminal punishment—up to three years in prison for illegally obtaining state secrets.
According to the South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong newspaper, a military enthusiast was sentenced to one year in prison for taking and publishing unauthorized photos of the Fujian using a high-definition camera in 2021, well before the warship's official launch in June 2022.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Aadil Brar is a reporter for Newsweek based in Taipei, Taiwan. He covers international security, U.S.-China relations, and East Asian ... Read more
