The Canadian military has discovered Chinese spy buoys in the Arctic which allegedly are monitoring US submarines and melting ice sheets. Such "activity is not new,” Canadian defense minister said in recent televised remarks, implying that China has been engaging in surveillance efforts in the region for some time.[1] Russia has long sought an Arctic trade route to create shorter vessel travel to Europe. Seems the Chinese may have the same idea, and oh; spy on its adversaries.
Officials described the objects as “dual-purpose technologies,” but they have been reported in Canadian media as buoys used for spying. It is unclear whether the Chinese buoys floated into Canadian waters or were purposefully anchored into the waters. Monitoring buoys can follow environmental and weather conditions, the salinity of water, and track fish.
Earlier this week, a giant mystery ball washed ashore in Japan, later found to be empty and a maritime buoy, though no owner has laid claim.[2] False flag, or a genuine maritime buoy?
The Canadian Department of National Defense said its military found and retrieved the monitoring devices but gave no further information about the operation. China has long been interested in building a presence in the Arctic which will allow it to secure a shorter trade route to Europe as glaciers melt. But as China's presence expands globally, so have concerns over undue influence, surveillance and espionage.
Canada’s foreign minister said that China is an increasingly disruptive power, in an interview with CNN. “When it comes to China, we will challenge China when we ought to, and we will cooperate with China when we need to,” she said. “When it comes to issues over the Arctic within our maritime borders, or any form of foreign interference, we will be clear, and that’s how we will address this issue.”
Earlier this month a suspected Chinese spy balloon flew over Canadian airspace into the US, before the American military shot it down into the Atlantic Ocean. Beijing has denied that the balloon served any surveillance purposes, saying instead that it was a weather research “airship.” The Canadian parliament is also currently investigating allegations of Chinese election interference.
Then there’s the Yellow Submarine. A mysterious bright yellow submarine-like object that washed ashore at a remote Australian beach has baffled marine experts and sparked a hunt for its identity and purpose. The yellow object was found on the shore at Double Island Point, a beach in the Great Sandy National Park north of Queensland's Sunshine Coast on the morning of 23 February.
A local camper was driving along the beach at low tide when he found the object at around 5:15am and took photos to compare it to other maritime objects, to try and identify it. He said that he has “never seen anything like it” in his 30 years of camping at the nearby Teewah Beach. The object has a large boat-like body with a long protrusion that holds two lights on its end and two rudder-like components on its rear. Other objects such as military target finders also bear resemblance to the object, however no identification has been confirmed.[3] Interesting, but still positively unidentified.
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[1] https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/02/23/china-using-spy-buoys-arctic-says-canada/
[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/24/world/asia/japan-buoy-sphere.html
[3] https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/others/mysterious-yellow-watercraft-stranded-on-queenslands-double-island-point-still-unidentified/ar-AA17S4xd
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