Villager rewarded for finding Canada-made spy submersible in East China coast

China’s national securitiy authorities recently rewarded a villager for finding a Canadamade submersible probe along a beach in East China’s Zhejiang Province.

The machine was a submersible probe made by a Canadian company, which could reach depths of up to 600 meters. The probe is equipped with a high definition camera, the Wenzhou Daily reported on Tuesday.

The villager, surnamed Yang, found the probe in Beiguandao Beach in Wenzhou in September. He then handed it over to authorities, the report said. It said that counter-espionage in China is urgent and complicated, and “various spy equipments are used to study China’s maritime environment.”

Such equipment not only collects environmental data but also engages in close-range reconnaissance and intelligence gathering.

The State security authorities said anyone who finds suspicious probes or monitoring equipment should surrender them to the government.

Xu Guangyu, a senior consultant at the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, told the Global Times that the probe was very likely meant to monitor the activities of China’s submarines. Submarines provide the navy with core information in the battle.

Awarding the villager will make the Chinese public aware that China is not always “safe,” and will encourage the public to get involved in anti-espionage work, Xu noted.

Zhang Junshe, a senior research fellow at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute, told the Global Times that it was no surprise to see foreign equipment and military personnel place submersible devices in China’s waters, especially in the East China Sea and South China Sea.