Taiwan confirms 2 air force officers indicted for espionage

ISTANBUL

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry confirmed Wednesday that two Taiwanese Air Force officers, one retired and one active, were indicted for leaking missile operation secrets to China.

The officers have been indicted under the National Security Act and other charges following an investigation, said media reports. Both reportedly confessed to the alleged crimes, and after further investigations, prosecutors secured approval for their detention.

The ministry said that the incident was discovered in 2023 when the Department of Strategic Planning filed a report stating that Shih Chun-cheng, “pretending to be an American think tank staffer, approached active service members to engage in espionage,” according to the Taipei-based Central News Agency.

The Taiwan High Court's Taichung Branch is hearing the case.

The media report said Shih was recruited by Chinese spies and tasked with recruiting others to gather military intelligence. In 2021, he reportedly brought Air Force Air Intercept Controller Hsu Chan-cheng into the scheme.

Shih then instructed Hsu to provide classified details on the Air Force’s response to Chinese incursions in exchange for financial compensation.

Hsu allegedly supplied secret documents containing sensitive information on the deployment of Hsiung Feng III missiles on fighter jets. A search of Shih’s home last August uncovered electronic evidence linking Hsu to the case.

Shih reportedly passed the information to Chinese intelligence in exchange for NT$1.5 million ($45,000), from which he passed on to Hsu an amount of NT$200,000 ($6,070).

The Hsiung Feng III is a medium-range supersonic missile designed to strike both land-based targets and naval targets.