China said on Friday (12) that foreign intelligence agencies are using marine animals equipped with sensors to monitor waters near the country.
In a post on the social network WeChat, the Ministry of State Security spoke of an “invisible secret war” at sea and said that new espionage tools were being used to map the Chinese underwater environment.
According to the government, among the methods identified were “spy turtles” and “spy fish”, found with sensors attached to their bodies while swimming in Chinese waters.
These devices, according to Beijing, would be capable of collecting real-time data such as water temperature, salinity and sea currents, sending the information abroad via satellite.
The ministry did not say where the animals were located or indicate which countries were behind the operation.
According to the Chinese press, Beijing is also offering rewards of 50,000 to 500,000 yuan for fishermen who find spying devices in its waters.
The ministry also said it had detected buoys launched by a foreign marine research institute, equipped with meteorological sensors capable of tracking, in real time, the acoustic signature of Chinese submarines.
Another piece of equipment mentioned was a type of maritime drone powered by solar energy and wave movement, which would be used to transmit environmental data and information about the movement of vessels.
The allegations arise amid growing disputes over maritime areas considered strategic, such as the South China Sea, the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait — regions that concentrate military tension and territorial disputes.
Continues after advertising
China frequently reports espionage attempts in these areas. In 2024, for example, he said he found structures at the bottom of the sea that he called “lighthouses”, supposedly used to guide foreign submarines.
