Reuters quoted an announcement from China's Ministry of State Security on WeChat saying that the agency had broken up a spy ring of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) through a foreigner living and working in China.
According to the announcement, the MI6 spy was identified as a man surnamed Huang who had been visiting China regularly since 2015 and working for a foreign consulting firm. British intelligence had approached and established a cooperative relationship with Huang to collect intelligence.
British intelligence has approached and established cooperative relationships with foreign citizens in China to collect intelligence. (Photo: Reuters)
M16 then instructed Huang to enter China multiple times and instructed him to use his public identity as a cover to gather intelligence related to China for British espionage.
MI6 also provided professional intelligence training to Huang in Britain and elsewhere, and provided special spy equipment to transmit intelligence data abroad.
“After careful investigation, state security organs quickly discovered evidence that Huang was involved in espionage activities and took criminal prosecution measures against him,” the Ministry of State Security said in a statement.
China did not disclose which company Huang worked for or whether it was linked to MI6.
The Chinese security agency's dismantling of a British spy ring comes amid tensions between Beijing and the West that show no signs of abating. This is part of the intelligence activities between the two sides.
Meanwhile, the British government has also accused Chinese intelligence of targeting its officials in sensitive positions in government, defense and the economy as part of Beijing's increasingly sophisticated espionage operations aimed at accessing secrets from London.
Recently, a researcher in the British parliament was accused of collaborating with Chinese intelligence, but he denied it.
China has also repeatedly condemned these allegations and a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the British side had not provided any evidence.
“We urge the UK to stop spreading disinformation and stop political manipulation and malicious slander against China,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said when asked at a press conference.
China is reportedly cracking down on perceived threats to its national security, while revealing a number of espionage cases it has caught in recent years.
The Chinese government has also issued warnings to citizens at home and abroad about the dangers of becoming involved in espionage activities. It has encouraged people to participate in counterintelligence work, including creating channels to report suspicious activity.
China has also launched a sweeping crackdown on foreign consulting and appraisal firms over threats to disclose state secrets, putting foreign companies operating in the country in the crosshairs.
Tra Khanh (Source: Reuters)
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