Tracked armored vehicles attached to a brigade under the PLA 81st Group Army are en route to the designated areas during a training exercise aiming to enhance the troops' land maneuver capability on March 2, 2021.Photo:China Military

Chinese military enthusiasts have been advised not to become tools of overseas intelligence agencies and leak classified information on the People's Liberation Army (PLA), after several accounts covering domestic military affairs on Chinese social media were recently suspended.

A photo taken by a military enthusiast showing a weapon that has yet to enter service was published on social media recently, and eventually became key intelligence that was obtained by overseas agencies without any effort, Jun Zhengping Studio, a commentary session run by the PLA Daily, revealed in a post on Monday on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter-like social media platform.

Similar incidents have taken place many times, and should serve as warnings to all netizens, particularly military enthusiasts, the commentary said, noting that China's national defense and military development have always been the biggest targets of overseas spy agencies.

Nowadays, the internet has become the greatest source of intelligence, and some military enthusiasts and bloggers covering related topics could become tools of overseas spy agencies without knowing, said Jun Zhengping Studio. "Whether it is intentional or unintentional, leaking classified information on the internet will do harm to the country and potentially lead to prison terms," it warned.

Most military enthusiasts are strong supporters of national defense and military development, so they need to have a strong sense of confidentiality, Jun Zhengping Studio said.

Jun Zhengping Studio's commentary came after several accounts covering domestic military affairs on Sina Weibo were suspended over the past few days, including the likes of Caiyunxiangjiang, which had more than 4 million followers.

When clicking on their Sina Weibo homepage, a notice pops up saying the account is not viewable due to reported violation of the law, regulations and code of conduct on Weibo.

It is not known if the commentary by Jun Zhengping Studio is directly related to the suspensions.

Global Times