‘Spy turtles’ and ‘spy fish’ being used to monitor Chinese waters, Beijing claims
TL;DR
China's ministry of state security claims foreign agencies are using 'spy turtles' and 'spy fish' equipped with sensors to monitor its waters, posing a threat to national security. The ministry warns of an ongoing 'invisible secret war' involving these animals collecting sensitive marine data.
Key points
- China claims foreign agencies are using spy animals for espionage
- Spy turtles and fish are allegedly collecting sensitive marine data
- Data includes water temperature, salinity, and ocean currents
- The animals transmit data overseas via satellite
- Historical context includes reports of Russia using trained dolphins
Mentioned in this story
China’s ministry of state security has claimed that foreign espionage and intelligence agencies are using innovative new methods to monitor the country’s waters, including deploying “spy” animals fitted with sensors.
In a post on the Chinese platform WeChat on Friday, the ministry warned that an “invisible secret war” was quietly playing out in the seas around China as foreign agencies were collecting sensitive data “through a variety of new spying devices” to produce underwater maps that pose a “serious threat to our national security”.
Among the espionage techniques being used, it claimed, were large marine animals, including “spy turtles” and “spy fish”, that had been found “attached to sensors” as they swam in Chinese waters.
The animals were “collecting sensitive marine environment data such as water temperature, salinity, and ocean currents in real time, and transmitting them overseas via satellite,” it said, without providing specifics about where the animals had been found, or who had equipped them.
Allegations of marine animals being used for spying purposes are not new. In 2023, British intelligence said Russia was stepping up security at its Sevastopol Black Sea fleet base – a port on Ukraine’s occupied peninsula of Crimea – by deploying trained dolphins. The report from the UK defence intelligence agency said Russia had trained bottlenose dolphins, which were being kept in floating pens in the harbour, to “counter enemy divers”.
China’s state security ministry also said it had found buoys “deployed by an overseas marine research institute” that were “equipped with a meteorological sensor package” that allowed them to track the “acoustic signatures of Chinese submarines in real time”.
The ministry also cited a new type of “wave glider” powered by wave motion and solar energy, which it said was deployed by foreign actors to transmit “military-related maritime environmental data and information on vessel activities”.
China regularly makes claims of espionage efforts taking place in nearby waters including the South China Sea, the East China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, which are some of the most militarily sensitive and heavily contested in the world. In 2024, it said it had identified “lighthouses” hidden on the ocean floor that could guide the transit of foreign submarines, and “pre-set the field for battle”.
The government reportedly offers fishers financial rewards ranging from 50,000 to 500,000 yuan (£5,500 to £55,000) for uncovering spying devices in its waters, according to Chinese media reports.
Additional reporting from Yu-chen Li
Q&A
What are the claims made by China about spy animals in its waters?
China claims that foreign intelligence agencies are using 'spy turtles' and 'spy fish' fitted with sensors to collect sensitive marine data in its waters.
How are these spy animals allegedly transmitting data?
The animals are said to collect real-time marine environment data and transmit it overseas via satellite.
What has been the historical context of using animals for espionage?
The use of marine animals for spying is not new; for example, British intelligence reported in 2023 that Russia was deploying trained dolphins for security at its Black Sea fleet base.
