Officers from the Military Intelligence Bureau (MIB) will no longer be sent “behind enemy lines” in China to collect intelligence, sources are saying, which, if true, could undermine Taiwan’s ability to understand developments in China.
Citing unnamed sources in intelligence circles, the Chinese--language China Times reported last week that under new directives issued to the military spy agency, the bureau would no longer be allowed to send its agents to China or direct Taiwanese businesspeople based there to collect classified information or develop spy networks.
According to the article, the MIB will be barred from breaking laws and regulations in China and will limit itself to using networks that are already in place to collect information from open sources such as journals, books, newspapers and academic papers.
Meanwhile, its collection of classified information and human intelligence on China will focus on overseas Chinese or Chinese who visit Taiwan on a regular basis.
Amid the government’s restructuring efforts, the bureau has been streamlined to cover six areas of responsibility, namely: Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Europe, electronic intelligence and administration.
Similar directives appear to have been issued to the National Security Bureau (NSB), the nation’s principal civilian spy agency.
According to the China Times, NSB officers will cease cooperating with allies in Southeast Asia in monitoring Chinese vessels passing through the Strait of Malacca and could curtail efforts to conduct “backdoor” communications intercepts inside China via India.
In addition, an unidentified country in Central America has also approached the NSB and offered to monitor and collect intelligence from China’s representative office in that country for the Taiwanese government, provided that the NSB was willing to provide the funding needed for the operation. The bureau turned down the offer after thorough consideration.
According to an anonymous source familiar with Taiwan’s intelligence collection operations, China’s representative offices in various countries have always been vital channels through which the Taiwanese government obtained intelligence, as their security measures on classified documentations were less stringent than those seen within the Chinese government.
“In the past, we [the Taiwanese government] would normally not turn down such ‘paid service’ for intelligence collection due to the adequate funding earmarked for such purposes and China’s apparent efforts to poach our country’s diplomatic allies in Central America,” the source said.
Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major-General David Lo (羅紹和) told the Taipei Times yesterday that the ministry does not comment on intelligence matters.
Such directives, which could not be independently confirmed, would occur as Beijing increases pressure on the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to engage in political talks and sign a peace accord. Although a drawdown of aggressive intelligence collection in China could send signals of goodwill to Beijing, it should be noted that intelligence agencies rarely discuss their means of collection or the true nature of their operations.
Among other restructuring plans, the MIB’s information operations will now fall directly under General Staff Headquarters rather than the NSB, with the unit in charge of communications intercepts in China being annexed to the ministry’s Communications Development Office, the China Times said, adding that the unit had moved to Sindian District (新店), New Taipei City (新北市).
An unnamed military source said that the MIB’s human resource and intelligence operations would no longer be overseen by the NSB director, as is the case at present.
INCONVENIENT: The US’ new air travel policy requires all non-citizen travelers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, but the Taiwanese vaccine is not on the list The US government next month is to require all non-US nationals to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before boarding a flight to the nation, but the Taiwanese vaccine manufactured by Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp (高端疫苗) is not on Washington’s list of acceptable vaccines. The new international air travel policy, which is to take effect on Nov. 8, requires all non-citizen, non-immigrant air travelers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before flying to the US. People are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after they receive their second dose in a two-dose series or two weeks after a single-dose vaccine, the White House said. Vaccines
DOWN, NOT OUT: The election was not a total defeat, as Chen still received 73,433 votes against the recall, and his party has ‘grown up’ through the process, he said Voters in Taichung yesterday recalled Taiwan Statebuilding Party Legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟), making him the first legislator in the nation’s history to lose a recall election. A total of 77,899 votes were cast to recall Chen, while 73,433 voted against, the Taichung City Election Commission said, adding that 51.72 percent of the city’s second electoral district turned out. The Central Election Commission is to confirm the final figures within the next seven days, it said. Commission data showed that there are 294,976 eligible voters in the second district, comprised of Dadu (大肚), Shalu (沙鹿), Longjing (龍井), Wufong (霧峰) and Wurih (烏日) districts. Chen won
MILITARY RESOLVE: Washington does not want a cold war with Beijing, it just wants ‘China to understand that we’re not going to step back,’ Biden told a CNN town hall The US would come to Taiwan’s defense and has a commitment to defend the nation China claims as its own, US President Joe Biden said on Thursday, although the White House later said there was no change in policy toward Taiwan. “Yes, we have a commitment to do that,” Biden said at a CNN town hall meeting when asked if the US would come to the defense of Taiwan, which has been facing mounting military and political pressure from Beijing to accept Chinese sovereignty. While Washington is required by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself, it has long
AFTERSHOCKS LIKELY: A hiker was hurt by falling rocks at the Taroko National Park, while a tower crane was damaged at a construction site in New Taipei City A series of earthquakes yesterday injured several people, damaged buildings and disrupted transportation. A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 8km northeast of Hualien County Hall at 12:38pm at a depth of 23.8km, the Central Weather Bureau’s Web site showed. It was followed at 1:11pm by a magnitude 6.5 quake centered near Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳) at a depth of 66.8km. A magnitude 5.4 earthquake followed less than a minute later, with its epicenter near the county’s Datong Township (大同), at a depth of 67.3km. A magnitude 4.2 quake again struck Nanao at 2:05pm at a depth of 63km. The magnitude 6.5 earthquake was the strongest
RSS