Taiwan's defense minister is trying to alleviate fears of military espionage concerning the Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile, saying no active information about Taiwan’s advanced missiles has been leaked to China. That’s after reports of a retired air force officer under investigation for sharing classified information.
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00:00This is the Xiongfeng-3 anti-ship missile, one of Taiwan's most advanced domestically
00:07made weapons.
00:08But now, sensitive information about its use and deployment could have been leaked to China.
00:17On Wednesday, Taiwan's defense ministry confirmed a former Air Force officer surnamed Shi was
00:22recruited by China after retiring in 2008.
00:26He then persuaded an active-duty air traffic controller to leak classified information.
00:31Both men were paid a combined total of just over US$45,000.
00:36The case is still ongoing, but three people have already been indicted.
00:56Shi allegedly took advantage of the U.S.'s close defense ties with Taiwan.
01:00He's accused of pretending to be affiliated with an American think tank in order to convince
01:04service members to share intelligence.
01:07He was released on a US$3,000 bail last week, and the air traffic controller is still heading
01:12to detention.
01:17The incident is just the latest example of Chinese espionage within Taiwan's military.
01:22Numbers from Taiwan's National Security Bureau show that nine people were charged with suspicion
01:26of espionage from 2001 to 2009.
01:30Between 2011 and 2023, that number rose to 113 military and civilian personnel.
01:37Last year alone, it saw a record 64 people charged with spying.
01:42Sensitive information about how Taiwan deploys its fighter jets was also leaked, and military
01:47observers here said that information could be used to undermine Taiwan's defense.
02:12Fears are rising over the growing threat posed by Chinese espionage.
02:16Xi Jinping's military dumps resources into understanding how its adversaries, countries
02:20like the U.S. and Taiwan, structure their defense.
02:42As Taiwan's military steps up its counter-espionage efforts, it remains unclear how big the problem
02:47is.
02:48What is clear is that if the military hopes to counter the threat from China, it's first
02:52going to have to address the one in its own ranks.
02:55Fu Hua Hong and Jaime O'Connor for Taiwan Plus.