appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Hayley Wong

China has announced new rules limiting what information can be shared about the military.
Beijing said the rules were designed to protect defence sources and the People’s Liberation Army’s public image, but they may mean it will be harder to monitor the development and evolution of China’s military.
From March 1 “online military information providers” will be banned from “producing, copying, publishing, or disseminating” previously undisclosed information, including details of weapon systems and military facilities.
The new rules ban the publication of information involving “military and national defence technology secrets”. These include information about “research and development, production, testing, transportation, equipment status and the maintenance of weapons and equipment, [as well as] the tactical and technical performance of weapons and equipment”.
It also bans the release of information about the armed forces’ organisational structure, its chain of command, previous commanders and details about military units that have not been officially disclosed.
The rules also took aim at “false military information and the leakage of military secrets on the internet”, according to the PLA’s official social media accounts.
They were outlined in a document signed by the Cyberspace Administration of China, the political work department of the Central Military Commission and other departments, which was made public on Saturday.
In the past military enthusiasts have been a valuable source of information about the PLA’s development, including the first photographs of new equipment such as advanced warplanes and aircraft carriers.


But the authorities have warned that such disclosures threatened national security and could make sensitive data vulnerable to exploitation by foreign spies. A number of military enthusiasts have previously been arrested for taking pictures of bases and weapons.
Beijing has also warned against the publication of information about military and personnel that harms the PLA’s image. In October last year the PLA’s social media accounts warned that people had been spreading false rumours about the military.
The new directive also bans the publication of information that “denies or attacks China’s national defence policy and military strategy”, including the “construction, development, and use of strategic nuclear forces”.
The directive said that social media users who wanted to be identified as “military accounts” would have to meet a number of requirements, which include providing personal details and registering with the cyberspace and military authorities.
Song Zhongping, a military commentator and former PLA instructor, said the new rules would have a positive impact.
“It has always been illegal to take photos of military equipment without authorisation,” he said, but added that the rules needed to be tightened.


Pacific island states are trapped in Cold War 2.0

Could China’s sixth-generation fighter carry a laser to defend against incoming missiles?

Could mystery Shanghai vessel be a mothership for China’s underwater drones?

Has a Chinese DF missile been used for the first time in the Middle East?

China's military weapons

China tightens rules on publishing information about the military online

Military bloggers have been among the first to release details of new Chinese weapons, including warplanes. Photo:  X/ 
醉美武功

Type 094 nuclear submarine is China’s ‘King of the South China Sea’ in bid for deterrence

The US and its allies closely monitor China’s Type 094 Jin-class submarines, which have been observed conducting “near-continuous” patrols in the contested South China Sea. Photo: Reuters

A formation of JL-2 missiles at the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in Beijing on October 1, 2019. Photo: Xinhua

Home-grown aircraft carrier Fujian will be the tip of China’s blue-water spear

China’s third aircraft carrier the Fujian leaves the Shanghai Jiangnan Shipyard on May 1, 2024 for its first navigation test. Photo: Xinhua

The J-35 stealth fighter, also known as FC-31, is considered China’s answer to Lockheed Martin’s F-35. Photo: Weibo

News

China

Military

‘Online information providers’ face a range of new curbs including a ban on publishing information about weapons systems and facilities


‘Online information providers’ face a range of new curbs including a ban on publishing information about weapons systems and facilities.


China’s internet censorship

China’s military

China tightens rules on publishing information about the military online

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}‘Online information providers’ face a range of new curbs including a ban on publishing information about weapons systems and facilities

‘Online information providers’ face a range of new curbs including a ban on publishing information about weapons systems and facilities