China’s state-owned shipping company COSCO has denied claims that its vessels were used to collect military intelligence for Beijing, calling the allegations “totally unfounded” and false.
Two senior Trump administration officials said COSCO used hidden equipment on its vessels to spy on military communications near the coastlines of countries including the United States.
The officials said COSCO has had a decades-long intelligence-gathering partnership with Beijing. They said this allows China to collect communication signals from ships and aircraft operating across Asia, Europe, and North America.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity. They did not name any COSCO vessels or say what equipment was allegedly used.
COSCO said the equipment on its ships is used only for normal commercial operations.
It said its communication, navigation, safety and operational equipment is used for legitimate purposes such as navigation safety, ship-to-shore communications and emergency response.
COSCO also said none of the equipment on its vessels was used to
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