China enforces strict penalties for posting military photos online
China warns military enthusiasts they risk imprisonment for sharing online photos as Western experts rely on amateur enthusiasts' images to gather intelligence on the People's Liberation Army
Don't miss out on CNN's Meanwhile in China newsletter, offering insights into the country's growth and its global impact. As open-source intelligence becomes increasingly important, Western analysts rely on amateur enthusiasts' online photos of new People's Liberation Army equipment to monitor China's military developments.
The posting of photographs of military ships or aircraft taken from outside PLA installations or from commercial flights near sensitive areas has become increasingly common as China continues to modernize its forces. "Military fans" have been sharing these images on social media platforms such as Weibo, which has hundreds of millions of active users.
However, this has now changed.
On Saturday, the Ministry of State Security posted on WeChat, warning that some individual military enthusiasts are jeopardizing national security by illegally acquiring and sharing information about national defense. The post mentioned that these individuals have been focusing on military airports, ports, national defense, and military industrial units, traveling to designated locations to clandestinely photograph with telephoto lenses or drones.
Repeat offenders could face up to seven years in prison, while first-time or occasional offenders may receive just a warning, as stated by the agency responsible for intelligence and counterintelligence in China and overseas. This warning coincides with heightened efforts by Chinese leaders to prioritize national security amid growing tensions with the United States.
The case of the carrier
For instance, the organization recently unveiled its social media account, focused on alerting the public about the dangers of leaking China's secrets to other countries and urging them to participate in the battle against espionage.
The spy agency's recent post indicated that online images could reveal the advancement of warship and aircraft construction, as well as divulge operational and technical specifics of Chinese military equipment. The post emphasized the potential security risk related to aircraft carriers.
Amateur spotters have frequently targeted China's latest aircraft carrier, the Fujian, as it undergoes construction at a Shanghai shipyard. The Jiangnan shipyard, where the carrier is being outfitted, is conveniently located near flight paths of Pudong Shanghai International Airport.
In November, Naval News, a defense news site based in Paris, reported that the Fujian had initiated testing of its state-of-the-art electromagnetic catapult system. The report was based on videos posted on Weibo, apparently taken from a passenger plane departing from Pudong. According to Naval News, using imagery from passenger planes has become a common practice to track the advancements of multiple major PLA Navy programs.
The Fujian is a standout program for the PLA Navy, with its 80,000-ton warship being the largest military vessel ever built in China. It is considered a rival to the newest US Navy carriers in the Gerald R Ford-class, which are among the few other carriers to use electromagnetic catapults to launch aircraft.
The suspected catapult test photos provided Western analysts with insight into the progress of the PLA Navy in preparing the carrier for commissioning and active service.
The imagery is not the first of the Fujian carrier to be shared online. In a news report disclosed by state broadcaster CCTV in April 2023, it was revealed that in November 2021, Mr. Luo, a well-known military enthusiast, was sentenced to one year in prison after being arrested by the Shanghai national security bureau for photographing the Fujian carrier.
Luo had used a drone capable of filming long-range high-resolution photos, the report said.
How the US handles images
Not only China is concerned about the potential actions of amateur military spotters that could compromise sensitive information.
Under US law, the President has the authority to designate specific military installations and equipment as restricted from being photographed.
Unauthorized photographing or creating visual representations of military and naval installations and equipment is prohibited by the US Code, and violators could be subject to a year in prison. However, former US Pacific Commands Joint Intelligence Center director of operations Carl Schuster noted that militaries can utilize open-source intelligence for their benefit.
When photos of a possible mockup of China's next-generation stealth fighter jet surfaced online in September, Schuster informed CNN that "considering the carrier's position and the probability of deck activities being recorded, the PLA [Navy] might find it beneficial to provoke speculation about the Fujian's upcoming air wing," simply to give opponents something to ponder.
