Taiwan hit by another espionage case [UPDATED]

A military spokesman said reinforced counterintelligence practices in the wake of a high-profile case last year had helped detect the suspicious behavior

The Taiwanese military yesterday was once again rocked by reports that one of its own had engaged in espionage for China, a little more than a year after a high-profile spy, who is now serving a life sentence, was arrested.

The Chinese-language Next Magazine reported that an air force captain surnamed Chiang (蔣), who worked at a “regional operations control center” in northern Taiwan, was believed to have passed on intelligence to China.

The report also claimed that Chiang’s uncle, who operates a business in China, had helped pass on the information obtained by Chiang, which reportedly included classified material on Taiwan’s early warning radar system, as well as E-2T/E-2K Hawkeye surveillance aircraft. It said Chiang had provided China with information about the 10-1E “Strong Net” — the nation’s air-defense command and control system.

Four regional operations control centers (ROCC), scattered across the nation, have been built in recent years to supplement the command-and-control functions of the Joint Air Operations Center on Toad Mountain (蟾蜍山) in southern Taipei, which is the principal operations body directing, controlling and executing air warning and air combat operations.

UPDATE: I have since been informed that Chiang did not work at one of the ROCCs, but rather at a site on the northern site of Yangmingshan (陽明山) that serves similar functions. I have also been told that the incident could be far more serious than MND spokesman David Lo let on in his comments to media yesterday.

My article, published today in the Taipei Times, continues here.