The Western intelligence alliance issued its first joint warning about China

In a June 3 bulletin titled “Protecting our secrets”, the Five Eyes alliance said that Chinese military intelligence is launching countless offers on professional social networking sites and online recruitment services, targeting government employees, military or anyone with access to confidential Western information.

Five Eyes is the West’s leading intelligence sharing network, including 5 countries: the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

“The ultimate purpose of Chinese military intelligence is to collect important political, economic and military intelligence information, which can give China a tactical and strategic advantage over the Five Eyes group,” the bulletin said.

This is the first time Five Eyes has issued such a general warning about China’s intelligence activities since the alliance was established after World War II.

In the news, security agencies said Chinese spies specifically target people specializing in defense, diplomacy, intelligence as well as military personnel, especially soldiers on duty in the Indo-Pacific region.

Journalists, employees at research institutions and people with outside access to government data are also targeted.

Ngu Nhan accused Chinese spies of using an “aggressive online recruitment strategy”, adding that recruits were then pressured to provide classified information to “unknown clients linked to the Chinese government”.

Recruits can be paid from several hundred to several thousand dollars per report. They can get more if they provide more sensitive information.

China has repeatedly denied such accusations of espionage, calling them “malicious slander and complete fabrication”. A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in London on June 4 also condemned the latest move of the Five Eyes alliance with similar statements.

Washington has previously warned about Chinese intelligence using deception to target former and current US officials. In November 2025, Britain’s MI5 security agency also warned parliamentarians that Chinese spies were trying to spy on the country’s parliament.