'Cool hobby, but be very careful': China warns 'military fans' against posting photos of its military hardware

As tensions between the US and China continue to rise, the latter has warned its citizens who are "military fans" against posting photos of things and objects considered sensitive. 

This comes as in the age of open-source intelligence, western experts have been using photos posted by amateur enthusiasts to analyse new People Liberation Army (PLA) equipment, as China rapidly modernises its forces.

In a post on WeChat, China's counterpart to WhatsApp, the nation's highly secretive civilian spy agency, the Ministry of State Security warned people, "This is a cool hobby, but you must be very careful," as reported by CNN.

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"Some individual military enthusiasts severely endanger national military security by illegally obtaining information regarding national defence and disseminating them on the internet."

"With a focus on military airports, ports, national defence and military-industrial units, they drove to or took ferries or planes that pass by designated routes, and clandestinely photographed with telephoto lenses or drones," added the agency, which oversees intelligence and counterintelligence within China and overseas.

As per the Chinese spy agency's post, images online can show the process of construction of warships or aircraft. Some may even disclose operational and technical details of the military hardware, it said.

Based on such videos posted on Weibo, in November, Paris-based Naval News reported that China had begun testing an electromagnetic catapult system for its newest aircraft carrier, The Fujian. 

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Punishment for breaking the rules

As per CNN, repeat offenders face imprisonment of up to seven years. However, "first-time or occasional offenders" may escape with only a warning. 

In recent months, China has increasingly become paranoid about espionage. It heightened efforts to protect its secrets, even launching a social media account dedicated to warning citizens about the dangers of exposing them to the outside world and calling them to join the fight against espionage.

(With inputs from agencies)