Canada says China is using spy buoys in the Arctic, reports The Globe and Mail.
The report comes less than three weeks after a U.S. fighter jet shot down a Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean.
The Canadian military found and retrieved Chinese monitoring buoys in the Arctic this past fall as part of Operation LIMPID, the Canadian Armed Forces mission to detect threats to Canada's security as early as possible.
"The Department of National Defense and Canadian Armed Forces [CAF] are fully aware of recent efforts by China to conduct surveillance operations in Canadian airspace and maritime approaches utilizing dual-purpose technologies," Daniel Le Bouthillier, head of media relations at the Department of National Defense, said in a statement.
"Under Operation LIMPID, the CAF monitors Canada's air, land, and sea approaches; and since 2022, it has stopped attempts to surveil Canadian territory," he added.
He declined to discuss more on what was found.
"To ensure the integrity of operations, we are unable to provide further information at this time," he said.
The discovery has raised questions about China's activities in the far north.
Adam Lajeunesse, an assistant professor at St. Francis Xavier University who specializes in Canadian Arctic marine security, told the CBC that a buoy could be used to chart the sea floor and monitor salinity levels and ice thickness ahead of other deployments.
"This is the necessary scientific work that has to be done before you deploy nuclear submarines into the Arctic," he said.
China has long displayed interest in the Arctic. In 2021, it sent an icebreaker on a five-month research expedition across the region.
Lajeunesse said Canada will likely reconsider scientific cooperation with the Chinese because of the findings.
"Canada is going to have to do a big review of not only its cooperation with the scientific community within China, but also how it responds to ostensibly civilian work and scientific work within its areas of jurisdiction."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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