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Espionage

Espionage
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Espionage. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Linda Sun arrives at US District Court in New York earlier this month. A mistrial was declared on Monday in the case of the former senior New York official charged with acting as a Chinese agent. Photo: Getty Images via AFP
US-China relations

Mistrial in case of ex-top aide to New York Governor charged as China agent

Linda Sun, ex-deputy chief of staff to Kathy Hochul, walked free after jury was deadlocked on all 19 counts and could not reach a verdict.

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Israel-Iran conflict

Man executed in Iran for spying for Israel tortured to confess: rights group

Britain

UK spy and military chiefs give threat assessment in ‘age of uncertainty’

Britain

UK sanctions Russian and Chinese firms, warns of cyber threats, hybrid warfare

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper says dangers range from disinformation campaigns to physical attacks and sabotage.

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper speaks at an event marking the 100th anniversary of the Locarno Treaties in London on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters
China’s Communist Party

China’s security chief hints at US decline, says tech theft is a major concern

State Security Minister Chen Yixin says ‘unipolar hegemony’ is on the wane in article for party newspaper that does not directly mention US.

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Britain

UK Novichok report blames Putin for ‘reckless’ poisoning of ex-Russian spy

Inquiry concluded that the assassination attempt of Sergei Skripal must have been ‘authorised at the highest level’.

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Britain

Collapsed UK China spy case due to ‘shambolic’ failures, not conspiracy: inquiry

The spy case against two British men collapsed as the UK failed to deem Beijing a threat, prompting cover-up speculation just before their trial.

A Chinese national flag flies atop the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United Kingdom, in London. Photo: AFP
North Korea

North Korean air force to gain ‘strategic assets’ amid heightened tensions

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un says the air force will be entrusted with ‘a new important duty’ and play a role in nuclear war deterrence.

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China-UK relations

Starmer met Premier Li Qiang at G20 in South Africa amid Beijing visit rumours

Speculation on a Beijing trip comes as Britain’s PM said he would protect UK national interests after questions about engagement with China.

China-UK relations

UK PM Keir Starmer to visit China in January, Sky News reports

The trip would come soon after Britain decides on the approval of a new Chinese embassy in London that critics say will pose a security risk.

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Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to visit China in January. Photo: Pool via Reuters
Britain

UK says ‘military options’ ready as Russian ship points lasers at British pilots

The Russian embassy said that Moscow has no interest in undermining the UK’s security as it sails spy ship on the edge of British waters.

A screen displays an image of Russian military ship Yantar, operating off the northern coast of Scotland. Photo: AFP
Britain

MI5 warns UK lawmakers of Chinese spies on LinkedIn

The ‘espionage alert’ warned that Chinese nationals were ‘actively’ reaching out to lawmakers via recruitment headhunters.

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US-China relations

Opinion | US national security focus throws a spanner in the workings of global trade

While attention to legitimate national security interests is justified, trade matters have traditionally been viewed as a parallel sphere.

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Diplomacy

Opinion | A post-Brexit Britain in decline cannot afford to alienate China

Brexit showed sentiment without strategy ends in decline. London risks a repeat by letting anti-Beijing posturing dictate policy.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Britain

UK man who dreamed of ‘being like Bond’ jailed for trying to spy for Russia

Howard Phillips tried to pass information about a former British defence secretary to undercover UK agents posing as Russian intelligence.

Howard Phillips was jailed on Friday for assisting a foreign intelligence service. Photo: Metropolitan Police via Reuters
China-Australia relations

Hot-button regional issues expose Australians to foreign agents: spy chief

‘More Australians are being targeted for espionage and foreign interference than ever before,’ ASIO head Mike Burgess says.

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Russia

Freed French cyclist describes ‘strange experience’ after Russian detention

Sofiane Sehili, who had faced a possible two-year sentence for illegally crossing the border, did not complain of mistreatment in detention.

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US-China relations

US lawmakers urge Trump to press Xi on American detainees, exit bans

Legislators call Beijing the ‘world’s largest hostage-taker’ that uses exit bans and detentions as ‘tools’ for leverage.

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Gulshan Abbas, a retired Uygur doctor seen here in a photo held up by her sister posted on social media in 2019, is just one of the cases American lawmakers want US President Donald Trump to bring up with President Xi Jinping. Photo: handout
Britain

Opinion | Britain’s obsession with ‘Chinese spying’ says more about the UK than China

The paranoia over people with connections to China tells us less about the scale of any real threat and more about the anxieties shaping Britain’s view of Beijing.

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Taiwan

Chinese spy drama Silent Honour inspires praise for real-life agents

‘Sudden surge’ of visitors to memorial park and one agent’s family home comes as series about mainland intelligence operation in Taiwan ends.

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Donald Trump

Ex-Trump aide John Bolton charged amid crackdown on US president’s critics

The former national security adviser is the third foe of the US president to be hit with criminal charges in recent weeks.

Then US National Security Adviser John Bolton in 2019. File photo: AFP
Britain

China poses ‘daily threat’ to UK security, MI5 chief says

Ken McCallum confirmed MI5 thwarted a China threat last week, but expressed frustration over a collapsed prosecution of two alleged spies.

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Director General of MI5, Ken McCallum, delivers the annual Director General’s Speech at the agency’s headquarters in London. Photo: dpa
Britain

UK’s Starmer publishes evidence in collapsed China spy case

Investigators were told Beijing carries out ‘large-scale espionage’, but the UK government is committed to pursuing a positive relationship.

Americas and the Caribbean

Trump confirms CIA covert operations in Venezuela as he weighs land operations

Venezuela’s Maduro decries ‘coups carried out by the CIA’ as the US continues a major military build-up in the southern Caribbean.

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Britain

UK’s Starmer to release security statements after China spying case collapse

The UK prime minister pledged full disclosure of China spying case evidence, blaming past government policy for the trial’s collapse.

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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer departs 10 Downing Street for Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) at Parliament in London, Britain on Wednesday. Photo: EPA
US-China relations

‘Red gift bag’: US national security expert arrested over classified documents

FBI found over 1,000 classified pages at the long-time US adviser’s home amid scrutiny of his Beijing contacts.

Ashley Tellis is a prominent Indian-American national security expert and long-time US adviser. Photo: handout
China-UK relations

UK’s MI5 warns politicians they are targets of Chinese and Russian spying

Britain’s domestic spy agency warned MPs to look out for spies seeking to elicit information from them by blackmail or phishing attacks.

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China’s Communist Party

CCTV drama Silent Honour marks rare salute to Communist Party spies in Taiwan

39-part series that premiered on Martyrs’ Day is first to hail crucial civil war intelligence provided by four undercover agents in Taiwan.

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