A foreign passenger allegedly used their phone to covertly photograph a military-civilian airport by wedging it outside the window shade. Photo: Screenshot of video by Sichuan Guancha

China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) warned on Monday that passengers on civilian flights are required to comply with regulations and are prohibited from taking unauthorized photographs of sensitive military areas and equipment. This warning followed the circulation of an online video showing a foreigner suspected of illegally photographing a military-civilian airport in China, which garnered widespread public attention.

On a flight from Yiwu, East China's Zhejiang to Beijing on June 12, a foreign passenger allegedly used their phone to covertly photograph a military-civilian airport by wedging it outside the window shade, Sichuan Guancha, a new media outlet of Sichuan Radio and Television, reported in a Weibo post on June 16.

A vigilant passenger in the rear seats reported the incident. Yiwu airport staff later responded that taking photos on the runway at a military-civilian airport is prohibited and that the matter would be reported to the police, the media report said.

The incident has attracted public attention and sparked online discussions. The relevant Weibo post has been read over 85 million times. Some netizens applauded the vigilant passenger who reported the incident, while others speculated that the foreign passenger could be a spy.

The MSS raised another similar incident in a Weibo post on Monday, stating that not long ago, at a military-civilian airport in the southeast coastal region, a passenger surnamed Liu ignored in-cabin broadcasts and flight attendants' reminders during taxiing and takeoff.

Liu placed his phone, with the video recording function on, between the window shade and the window, repeatedly opening the shade to record surrounding airport facilities, buildings, and military aircraft, intending to show off on social media.

The airport observed that a passenger on the flight had not closed the window shade as required. They immediately instructed the plane to return to its parking position. Only after thorough checks by the relevant departments and national security agencies confirmed there was no risk of information leakage was the flight allowed to take off again.

Liu's actions not only caused a delay for his flight, affecting the travel plans of other passengers, but he was also subjected to a seven-day administrative detention for disrupting public transportation order, according to the MSS.

Nearly one-third of the airports currently in operation in China are military-civilian airports. These airports are mostly located in coastal and border areas, holding strategic positions and significant military value, the MSS said.

To ensure national military security and prevent passengers from "unintentionally" acquiring or leaking national military secrets, passengers should close the window shades as instructed by the cabin crew and refrain from taking photos or videos, or uploading such content online, when civil aircraft are taking off, landing, or taxiing at military-civilian airports. This is also a common practice worldwide for maintaining the confidentiality of military facilities, it noted.

Unauthorized photographing of military facilities and equipment is a serious threat to national security, the MSS said.

Every passenger is responsible for cooperating to ensure the security and confidentiality of military-civilian airports. Whether due to negligence or intentional violation of relevant confidentiality regulations, unauthorized photographing at military-civilian airports can pose risks to national military security, it added.

Global Times