News Report: China Claims to Have Arrested Japanese Spy

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has announced the arrest of a Japanese citizen who is suspected of espionage. The arrest occurred close to the border between China and North Korea.

Ken Higuchi was arrested in the port city of Dalian, Liaoning province, less than 200 miles from the China-North Korea border. The Dalian City National Security Bureau is probing Higuchi to determine if he is a spy against China or not.

Monday is Respect for the Aged Day, a national holiday in Japan where non-essential government workers have the day off. As such, the Japanese Foreign Ministry did not immediately comment on the arrest.

In March, China detained six Japanese nationals under suspicions of espionage. Like Higuchi, the men were arrested in port cities. Three of the detainees claimed that they were doing geological research into Chinese hot springs, and they along with a fourth man were released in July. The other two remain in custody.

News Story: Pakistan receives Indian note in case of spy

ISLAMABAD, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan has received written pleadings from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), submitted by India in the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian national sentenced to death on charges of spying, the Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry said in a statement Friday that the note is under consideration by a team of lawyers and experts, led by the Attorney General of Pakistan.

"The position of the Government of Pakistan, especially highlighting the acts of espionage, terrorism and sabotage committed by Commander Jadhav in Pakistan, which resulted in the loss of many precious and innocent lives of Pakistanis, would soon be submitted at the International Court of Justice," the statement said.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Report: Cambodia Arrests Opposition Leader, Alleges Treason

David Boyle

NEW YORK — Cambodian opposition leader Kem Sokha was arrested early Sunday on an espionage charge, accused of conspiring with a foreign power to harm the country, according to a government statement.

Kem Sokha’s daughter, Kem Monovithya, tweeted: “Kem Sokha and all bodyguards are taken away by 100-200 police without warrant after they raided his home. We don’t know where they take him.”

The Cambodian government statement said Kem Sokha, the leader of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, had been charged with espionage under Article 443 of Cambodia’s criminal code.

“The Royal Government would like to inform the public that according to a video clip broadcasted by the Cambodian Broadcasting Network, based in Australia, and other evidences collected by the competent authority, it clearly proves the conspiracy between Kem Sokha and the accomplices with foreign power, which harms the Kingdom of Cambodia,” the statement read.

News Story: Cambodian PM says U.S. behind opposition leader Sokha in anti-gov't plot

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on Sunday accused the United States of staying behind an anti-government plot made by Cambodian main opposition leader Kem Sokha, government-aligned media Fresh News reported.

Sokha, president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), was caught red-handed early Sunday at his home in Phnom Penh and sent to Trapaing Thlong Prison in Tboung Khmum province, about 150 km east of Phnom Penh.

"It is the United States. The act of treason by conspiring with foreign country, betraying his own nation, requires immediate arrest," Fresh News quoted the prime minister as saying to more than 4,000 garment workers during a get-together in Phnom Penh.

Hun Sen said Sokha's arrest would not affect the national election, which is scheduled on July 29, 2018, and called on the people to keep calm and let the court proceed with the case.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Singapore to expel professor of Chinese descent for being 'foreign agent'

Singapore said Friday it would expel a professor of Chinese descent working at a local university from the city-state, accusing him of acting as an "agent of influence" for a foreign government.

Huang Jing, a US citizen who held a senior position at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, had engaged in "activities inimical to Singapore's national interests", said the city-state's Ministry of Home Affairs.

His wife Shirley Yang Xiuping, who the ministry said knew he was acting as an agent for a foreign government, was also permanently banned from Singapore.

Authorities did not say which foreign government he was accused of working for.

But he has written extensively on China and contributed articles to state news agency Xinhua and the People's Daily, the official mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, according to his biography on the Lee Kuan Yew School's website.

If authorities confirm that he was working for Beijing, the development could dent a relationship that has already faced turbulence in recent times.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Report: Fear of Chinese Spies Halts Australia-Solomons Cable Project

A project to build a 4,000-kilometer underwater cable connecting Sydney and the Solomon Islands came to a screeching halt following the Australian Secret Intelligence Service’s warning to the Solomons Islands prime minister that the Chinese firm contracted to do the work, Huawei, allows Chinese spies access to conduct cyberattacks.

During a June visit to the Solomons, ASIS head Nick Warner informed Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare of his concerns about the use of Huawei as a contractor. Huawei’s ability to securely install the cable came into question as a result of “backdoors” found in the firm’s products.

"It is no secret that China is very active in intelligence activities directed against us," Defence Secretary Dennis Richardson said in his final speech before retiring in May.

Honiara gave contract rights to Shenzhen-based telecom giant Huawei in mid-2016, though a US-UK firm was initially awarded contract rights following "a competitive tender process," the Sydney Morning Herald reported. The US-UK company had full permission from Canberra’s Attorney General to carry out the work. Huawei has yet to be granted such a permit. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) promptly pulled its financing of the project after the US-UK firm was snubbed.

News Story: US defense contractor accused of spying for China

A US defense contractor and former State Department security officer was arrested by American counterintelligence officials on Thursday and charged with spying for China.

The Justice Department said Kevin Mallory of Leesburg, Virginia had sold classified documents to Chinese intelligence agents on trips to Shanghai in March and April.

He could face up to life in prison if found guilty.

The source and content of the documents in question was not divulged, but was characterized as "defense information" for which he received $25,000.

"Your object is to gain information, and my object is to be paid," he told the Chinese in a May 5 message, according to an indictment.

Mallory, 60, is a fluent Mandarin speaker who had served in the US army, then as a special agent for the security service of the State Department, before becoming a contractor to various government agencies.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Report: Virginia Man Charged with Espionage, Accused of Leaking Classified Info to China

The Department of Justice (DoJ) has issued a report that a 60-year-old resident of Leesburg, Virginia, has been arrested and charged with espionage. Kevin Mallory, a consultant with a former Top Secret security clearance, has been formally charged in federal court with passing classified information to a Chinese agent in March and April of 2017.

In March, Mallory traveled to Shanghai, China. During that time, federal prosecutors say, he met with a person (referred to as PRC1 in the DoJ brief) he believed to be an agent of the People's Republic of China Intelligence Service (PRCIS). If found guilty of the charges, he could face life in prison.

"The conduct alleged in this complaint is serious, and these charges should send a message to anyone who would consider violating the public's trust and compromising our national security by disclosing classified information," said Dana Boente, the federal attorney who announced the charges.

News Report: Australia Moves to Protect Classified Docs from Cyber Espionage

Phil Mercer

SYDNEY — Australia says it will move classified government information from a private data center in Sydney after a Chinese consortium bought a major stake in the company. The move comes despite assurances from the company, Global Switch, that its files are secure.

Global Switch owns two secure data facilities in downtown Sydney, and stores classified Australian government defense and intelligence files.

Its ownership changed in December when its UK-based parent company accepted a $3 billion bid from Chinese investors for a 49 percent stake in the Sydney-based firm. Among the investors was an entrepreneur who owns part of China's leading data enterprise, the Daily Tech.

In response, Australian officials said they would move classified files from the private storage facility to a state-run data unit when its current contract expires in 2020, despite a promise from Global Switch that its services are secure.

News Story: China concerns spark Australia spy law review

Australia has ordered an inquiry into espionage laws and foreign government interference amid growing concerns about Chinese influence in the country's politics, it emerged Tuesday.

The move follows an investigation that discovered the nation's spy agency had warned the country's political elite two years ago about taking donations from two billionaires with links to the Chinese Communist Party.

The probe, by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Fairfax Media, said that despite being cautioned both the Liberals and Labor continued accepting substantial sums of cash.

Their investigation showed that property developers Huang Xiangmo and Chau Chak Wing, or their associates, had donated around AUS$6.7 million ($5 million) to political parties over a decade.

Chau is an Australian citizen while Huang's citizenship application has been stalled by Australia's spy chiefs, ABC said. Both reportedly have connections to the ruling Communist Party.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Story: China confirms investigation into Japanese citizen for harming national security

BEIJING, June 2 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed on Friday that a Japanese citizen was under investigation for harming Chinese national security.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying made the confirmation at a daily press briefing.

According to Kyodo News, a Japanese man in his 60s was detained by Chinese authorities in Liaoning Province in May.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Report: Beijing’s Underwater Science Observatory Includes National Defense Uses

The underwater observatory in the South China Sea Beijing planned to use for scientific purposes could also be used for “national defense” purposes – like spying on US subs.

The facility may also serve as infrastructure for an “underwater great wall project” that would propel Beijing closer to its aim of South China Sea dominance. 

An unknown number of sensors spanning the East and South China Seas are linked from the ocean floor to a computing facility in Shanghai for processing. The “real-time, high-definition, multiple interface, and three-dimensional observations” provided by the secretive academic endeavor could be used for “national defense in addition to scientific research,” professor Zhou Huaiyang was quoted as saying on CCTV by The Drive.

News Story: ‘Hackers may be targeting Phl intel on SCS dispute’

By Jaime Laude

MANILA, Philippines -  Hackers linked with the Vietnamese government are likely targeting Philippine government agencies to gather intelligence related to the maritime dispute in the South China Sea, cybersecurity company FireEye said on Thursday.

That same group, which FireEye called APT32, was also responsible for attacking a Philippine consumer products corporation and a Philippine technology infrastructure firm in 2016, the company said in a media briefing.

Bryce Boland, chief technology officer for Asia Pacific, said the company had observed that APT32 was targeting not just multinational companies and organizations doing business in Vietnam but Philippine government agencies as well.

“This is presumably in order to gain access to information about military preparation and understanding how the organizations within the government operate in order to be better prepared in case of potentially military conflict,” Boland said.

“There are overlapping claims between Vietnam and the Philippines over some islands in the South China Sea and it is quite likely that intelligence gathering is starting around that,” Boland said.

Vietnam has strongly rejected allegations it supports hacking.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: China backs security services after spy deaths report

China on Monday defended its right to investigate actions threatening national security but declined to comment on a report that authorities killed or jailed up to 20 CIA sources.

The New York Times reported on Sunday that Beijing had systematically dismantled CIA spying operations in China beginning in late 2010, in one of the worst US intelligence breaches in decades.

At least a dozen Central Intelligence Agency sources were killed between late 2010 and the end of 2012, including one who was shot in front of colleagues in a clear warning to anyone else who might be spying, the Times reported, citing 10 current and former US officials.

In all, 18 to 20 CIA sources in China were either killed or imprisoned, according to two former senior American officials quoted.

The paper called it a grave setback to a network that, up to then, had been working at its highest level for years.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Report: UN Court Orders Pakistan Not to Execute Indian Officer

On Thursday, the International Court of Justice ordered Pakistan to stay the execution of Kulbhushan Jadhav, who Pakistan claims to be an Indian spy, until the case is heard in full by the court in The Hague, the Netherlands. It also asked Pakistan to give India full consular access to Jadhav.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — The order came as a major relief to millions of Indians who were glued to the television and other media for the verdict. Pakistan claims that Jadhav is an Indian spy. He was arrested in Balochistan last year when he had an Indian passport in the name of Mubarak Hussein Patel.

"Pakistan shall take all measures at its disposal to ensure that Jadhav is not executed pending the final decision in these proceedings and shall inform the court of all the measures taken in implementation of the present order. The court also decides that, until it has given its final decision, it shall remain seized of the matters which form the subject-matter of this order," court President Ronny Abraham said, after rejecting Pakistan’s argument that the court did not have jurisdiction over the matter.

“The ICJ order has come as a great relief to the family of Kulbhushan Jadhav and people of India. I assure the nation that under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi we will leave no stone unturned to save Kulbhushan Jadhav,” Sushma Swaraj, India’s Minister for External Affairs, said.

News Report: Chinese Government Appears Bewildered at Australian Accusations of Spying

The Chinese government has said that it had no idea about the Australian Defense Minister's emphatic comments that China was carrying out espionage on Australian soil.

Australian Secretary of Defense Dennis Richardson made the allegation on Friday, May 12, that China is spying on and using "unreasonable" influence on Chinese communities and media in Australia.

"It is no secret that China is very active in intelligence activities directed against us — and it is more than cyber," Mr. Richardson said during a farewell speech to the National Press Club of Australia.

Mr. Richardson is soon to depart from his post as secretary of defense.

"That is no reason to engage in knee jerk anti-China decision making, or to avoid seeking to build a stronger relationship with China. It is simply the world in which we live. The Chinese government keeps a watchful eye inside Australian Chinese communities and effectively controls some Chinese language media in Australia."

News Report: New Delhi to Appeal Against Pakistan's Death Sentence of Alleged Indian Spy

India will appeal against a Pakistani court's decision to sentence Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, accused of espionage against Islamabad, to death once it has a copy of the charges brought against him, India's Ambassador to Pakistan Gautam Bambawale said Friday.

NEW DELHI (Sputnik) — Pakistani Field General Court Martial declared the death sentence verdict to Jadgav on Monday. The move prompted sharp criticism by Indian authorities, who warned Pakistan about the severe consequences of the potential execution for bilateral relations.

"We will definitely appeal against the judgement. Till we know what is in the charge-sheet and the verdict, how can we appeal?" Bambawale said after visiting the Pakistani Foreign Ministry as quoted by the Hindustan Times newspaper.

Jadhav, 46, a former Indian navy personnel and businessman, was arrested by Pakistani authorities in March 2016 on charges of conspiring against Pakistan and conducting spy activities in the country's cities of Balochistan and Karachi. Pakistan's government considers him to be an active officer of the Indian Navy working for the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) of the Indian foreign intelligence agency.

According to the Indian Foreign Ministry, Jadhav was kidnapped in 2016 from Iran while his subsequent detention had never been "explained credibly" by the Pakistani side. New Delhi says that the Indian government had made formal requests for consular access to Jadhav 13 times since his arrest, but the requests had been rejected by the Pakistani authorities.

This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.

News Story: India says Pakistan denies consular access request to meet convicted spy

NEW DELHI, April 13 (Xinhua) -- The Indian government said Thursday that Pakistan has been denying its requests for consular access to meet Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former navy officer sentenced to death on charges of spying.

The government said it has no information about the whereabouts of Jadhav in Pakistan.

"Kulbhushan Jadhav is a kidnapped innocent Indian, who is a retired officer of Indian navy and we have communicated it to Pakistan a year ago, when it came into our notice that he has been illegally detained there," India's foreign ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay told media.

"So far we had made 13 consular access requests to Pakistan in case of Kulbhushan Jadhav but the requests have been turned down and therefore we don't know where or in what condition he is being held."

According to Baglay, Pakistan has also not shared any details about Jadhav's condition.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Report: Islamabad Unafraid of New Delhi's Threats Over Death Penalty to 'Indian Spy'

Islamabad is not afraid of India's warnings of the deterioration of bilateral relations amid a death penalty sentence of Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav, accused of espionage against Pakistan, the country’s Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif said Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Pakistani Field General Court Martial declared the death sentence verdict to Jadgav on Monday. The move prompted sharp criticism by Indian authorities, including the country's Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj who warned Pakistan about the severe consequences of the potential execution for bilateral relations.

"Pakistan will not take any pressure from India," Sharif said, as quoted by news outlet Times Now.

Jadhav, 46, a former Indian navy personnel and businessman, was arrested by Pakistani authorities in March 2016 on charges of conspiring against Pakistan and conducting spy activities in the country's cities of Balochistan and Karachi. Pakistan's government consider him to be an active officer of the Indian Navy working for the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) of the Indian foreign intelligence agency.

According to the Indian Foreign Ministry, Jadhav was kidnapped in 2016 from Iran and his subsequent detention had never been "explained credibly" by the Pakistani side. New Delhi added that the Indian government had made formal requests for consular access to Jadhav 13 times since his arrest, but the requests had been rejected by the Pakistani authorities.

This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.

News Story: India-Pakistan relations hit new low over death sentence to alleged Indian spy

NEW DELHI, April 11 (Xinhua) -- India Tuesday strongly condemned the death sentence handed down to one of its nationals for alleged spying in Pakistan as "an act of premeditated murder" and warned Islamabad of "consequences for bilateral relationship" if he is executed.

"There is clearly no evidence of any wrongdoing by Kulbhushan Jadhav (the alleged spy). This is an act of premeditated murder. I would caution the Pakistan government to consider the consequences for our bilateral relationship if they proceed on this matter," External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told the Parliament.

However, experts say that India-Pakistan relations have already tumbled to a new low after a military court in the neighboring country Monday awarded death sentence to Jadhav, a former Indian Navy officer, following which New Delhi retaliated by stopping release of some Pakistani prisoners.

"The relations between India and Pakistan have touched another low since the expulsion of each other's diplomatic officials last year over spying charges and the surgical strikes carried out by India across the border in the wake of a terror attack on its Uri military base in Indian-controlled Kashmir in September 2016," said Prof Navin Pathak, a Delhi-based expert.

Read the full story at Xinhua