Police in South Korea, a key United States treaty ally in Northeast Asia, caught two Chinese teenagers for illegally photographing fighter aircraft near a major air base.
Newsweek has reached out to the Chinese Embassy in South Korea for comment by email.
Why It Matters
Several Chinese nationals have been apprehended for alleged suspicious activities near military bases in foreign countries in recent years, including operating a drone over a United States Space Force base in California and monitoring American naval vessels in the Philippines.
In June last year, three Chinese students were arrested in South Korea for illegally filming drone footage of a visiting American aircraft carrier. One of the suspects was reportedly a Chinese Communist Party member and acted under the direction of a Chinese spy agency.
What To Know
The arrested Chinese nationals allegedly used their digital single-lens reflex camera and mobile phone to shoot fighter aircraft’s flight operations at the Suwon Air Base on March 21, Yonhap News Agency reported on Monday, citing the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police.
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The air base is located 21 miles to the south of the nation’s capital city of Seoul. While its main operator is the South Korean air force’s 10th Fighter Wing, the U.S. has deployed a Patriot missile unit there permanently to protect its ally, Stars and Stripes reported in 2009.
During Freedom Shield 25 this year, a U.S.-South Korea war game that was held from March 10 to 20 in South Korea, the U.S. Air Force trained alongside its South Korean counterpart at Suwon Air Base, which enhanced the readiness of the combined U.S.-South Korea force.
The teenagers, who are reportedly high school students, entered South Korea on tourist visas three days prior to the incident. They have been placed under a travel ban and are facing charges of breaching South Korea’s Protection of Military Bases and Installations Act.
Korea JoongAng Daily reported that “numerous” photos of military aircraft in flight were found on the suspects’ devices, which are now undergoing digital forensics to check whether other “key national infrastructures” like airports and seaports were being filmed.
According to the report, one of the Chinese teenagers told investigators that taking photos of aircraft is their “hobby.”
What People Are Saying
An unnamed South Korean police official said, according to Korea JoongAng Daily: “This remains an active investigation, and we cannot disclose further details…We’ve imposed a travel ban and are continuing to trace their movements.”
An unnamed South Korean resident in Suwon reportedly told police: “Two men are taking photos near the air base.”
The U.S. Air Force said in a press release: “Suwon [Republic of Korea Air Base] plays a critical role in safeguarding the Korean Peninsula. Its location makes it a crucial point for projecting airpower and ensuring regional stability.”
Republic of Korea is the official name of South Korea.
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen how the South Korean authorities would enhance the security of the nation’s military installations, as well as those used by the U.S. forces, to prevent similar incidents from happening.