Alleged MSS Spies in Astrakhan: Unpopular Rear Special
By John Monoghan
15/12/2021
China has had a subpar track record for things such as basic human rights for its people all the way up to neighboring countries and international relations as a whole. Investments in South Sudan and other African countries, maritime disputes with Japan, Vietnam, and the Philippines, and so on.
We have also covered their blatant breach of Hong Kong sovereignty, as pro-democracy protestors were tear gassed and abused by Hong Kong police. The Chinese government failed to reach out for comment for this article.
The Chinese intelligence apparatus, the Ministry of State Security, is the intelligence agency wing of the Chinese Communist Party. Specializing in intelligence gathering and other espionage tasks, it was formed in 1983 after a merger with the Ministry of Public Security and the Central Investigation Department. Today they spy on the marginalized Uygur minority within their country, and send agents abroad such as the United States. In fact, UC Davis, a California university specializing in animal research and is studying over 40 COVID strains from cats, was infiltrated by a Chinese MSS agent last year. Fang Fang, a socialite working for the MSS, slept with high-ranking American politicians for classified intel.
China’s aggressive spying on its citizens and of nations abroad, coupled with economic moves in Africa, Australia and elsewhere signals its move to become a great international player.
Through our open source intelligence (OSINT) efforts we have evidence of alleged MSS spies infiltrating pro-Russian groups somewhere in Russia. Note that Russia is amassing troops at the border of Ukraine and that the Chinese operatives are likely cooperating with these groups.
A Pro-Russian separatist group on the Russian social media site V Kontakte posted a photo, with the caption hinting that there were rumors of Chinese fighters with them. Note the MSS patch, which has the distinct logo of the CCP.
A few days later, Sina Weibo, a Chinese social media site reposted the photograph. Then, the Russian PMC social media group Reverse Side of the Medal reposted them on their Twitter.
A few days ago, American authorities apprehended a man named Shermano Xu and another unnamed accomplice, as police suspected him and bis accomplice of flying to Russia to likely link up with the MSS agents. He is known to have smuggled sensitive night vision equipment and other military paraphernalia to China, which is against International Trade of Arms Regulation laws. Two firearms, tactical gear and plane tickets to Russia were found along with other military equipment were packed inside a DHL box and labeled for a Russian address near Astrakhan.
While Russia and China are much closer and acquainted with each other than say Japan or the US, this signals a very dangerous precedence for China’s neighbors and the world as a whole, who have to compete with the Chinese industrial and political machine.
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