China warns 'military fans' they could face imprisonment for posting their photos online

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CNN
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In the era of open source intelligence, one of the main methods Western experts use to monitor China's military establishment is by analyzing photos of new PLA equipment posted online by amateur enthusiasts.

Posting photos of captured military ships or aircraft from outside People's Liberation Army facilities or from commercial flights near sensitive areas has become a common sight in recent years as China rapidly modernizes its forces. “Military fans” have spread the word to a broader population on social media sites such as Weibo, with hundreds of millions of active users.

But not anymore.

In a WeChat post on Saturday titled: “This is a great hobby, but you must be very careful,” the Ministry of State Security said: “Some individual military enthusiasts seriously jeopardize national military security by illegally obtaining information related to national defense and disseminating it on… Internet”. Internet.”

“Focusing on military airfields, ports, national defense units and military industrial units, they drove their cars to or boarded ferries or planes passing through designated routes, and secretly took photos using telephoto lenses or drones,” the post said. Top secret civilian spy agency.

Repeat offenders could face up to seven years in prison, although “first-time or occasional offenders” may only receive a warning, according to the agency that oversees intelligence and counterintelligence inside and outside China.

This warning comes at a time when Chinese leaders are increasingly focused on ensuring national security across a range of sectors, especially as tensions with the United States rise.

For example, earlier this year the agency launched its own social media account – dedicated to warning citizens about the risks of revealing China's secrets to the outside world and calling on them to join its fight against espionage.

According to the spy agency's post on Saturday, images posted online could show progress in building warships or aircraft while also revealing operational and technical details of Chinese military equipment. The post specifically mentioned aircraft carriers as one area where security could be compromised.

The latest in China Fujian aircraft carrierIt was a frequent target of amateur observers as it was outfitted at a Shanghai shipyard. The Jiangnan shipyard where the work is being carried out is located near the flight paths of Pudong Shanghai International Airport.

In November, the Paris-based Defense News website Marine News Fujian has begun testing its advanced electromagnetic catapult system, based on videos posted on Weibo that appear to be taken from a passenger plane outside Pudong, it reported.

“Relevant images taken from passenger aircraft have become a common resource for tracking the progress of several key (People's Liberation Army Navy) programs,” Naval News reported.

Fujian It is certainly a landmark program of the People's Liberation Army Navy. The 80,000-ton warship, the largest military ship ever built in China, is a competitor to the US Navy's newest Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers, and is one of the few other aircraft carriers to use electromagnetic catapults to launch aircraft.

Photos of the suspected catapult test gave Western analysts an idea of ​​how the People's Liberation Army Navy is progressing in preparing the carrier for operation and active service.

These photos are not the first of their kind in Fujian to find their way online.

In April 2023, China Broadcasting Corporation CCTV revealed in a news report that in November 2021, Mr. Lu, a “fairly famous” military enthusiast, was sentenced to a year in prison after being arrested by the National Security Bureau in Shanghai on charges of photographing the aircraft carrier Fujian. . .

The report said that Lu used a drone capable of photographing long-range, high-resolution images.

How does the United States deal with images?

It's not just China that is concerned about what amateur military observers might do that could reveal sensitive information.

US law stipulates that the president can designate certain military facilities and equipment as off-limits to image makers.

US law states that “it shall be unlawful to make any photograph, diagram, photograph, drawing, map, or graphical representation of such vital military and naval installations or equipment” unless appropriate permission has been obtained in advance. Violators may face up to a year in prison.

Of course, militaries can sometimes use open source intelligence to their advantage, said Karl Schuster, former director of operations at the Joint Intelligence Center of the U.S. Pacific Command.

After photos of a mock-up of China's next-generation stealth fighter jet appeared online in September, Schuster told CNN that “given the location of the carrier and the potential for deck operations to be photographed or videotaped, the PLA [Navy] You might see value in inciting speculation about Fujian's future air wing, if only to give opponents something to think about.