In a bulletin released on 3/6 titled "Protecting our secrets", the Five Eyes alliance stated that Chinese military intelligence is issuing numerous solicitations on professional social media sites and online recruitment services. These efforts target government and military personnel, or anyone with access to Western classified information.
Five Eyes is a premier Western intelligence-sharing network comprising five nations: the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
"The ultimate goal of Chinese military intelligence is to gather crucial political, economic, and military intelligence that could give China a tactical and strategic advantage over the Five Eyes group", the bulletin stated.
This marks the first time Five Eyes has issued such a joint warning about China's intelligence activities since the alliance's formation after World War II.
In the bulletin, security agencies reported that Chinese operatives specifically target individuals specializing in defense, diplomacy, intelligence, and military personnel, particularly soldiers serving in the Indo-Pacific region.
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Surveillance cameras in Beijing, China, in March. *AFP*
Journalists, research institute staff, and individuals with peripheral access to government data are also targeted.
Five Eyes accused Chinese operatives of employing "aggressive online recruitment strategies", adding that those recruited are then pressured to provide classified information to "unidentified clients linked to the Chinese government".
Recruits may be paid from a few hundred to several thousand USD per report. They could receive more for providing more sensitive information.
China has repeatedly rejected such espionage allegations, calling them "malicious slander and outright fabrication". A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in London on 4/6 condemned the Five Eyes alliance's latest move with similar remarks.
Washington had previously warned about Chinese intelligence using deceptive methods to target former and current US officials. In 11/2025, the UK's MI5 security agency also warned parliament members that Chinese operatives were seeking to spy on the country's parliament.
Pham Giang (According to Reuters, Washington Post)
