The Ministry of State Security has released details of a case in which a foreign enterprise was caught collaborating with a Chinese company to illegally collect geographical information and conduct mapping activities within China.

The foreign company being a contractor for key sensitive projects in another country is not entitled to independently conduct geographical surveys or mapping activities in China. However, in order to evade supervision, the company subcontracted a domestic qualified company under the pretext of autonomous vehicle driving research to carry out the survey.

Equally noteworthy is the way they went about collecting the info, by purchasing several vehicles and equipping them with high-precision radar, GPS, and optical lenses so that all they needed to do was to drive through the places marked for survey; the instruments carried out the surveying and mapping work.

Technologies such as radar, high-resolution cameras and fast mapping software are so commonplace these days that an ordinary-looking car on the road can carry out the survey without arousing any suspicion.

Which further highlights the importance of stricter regulatory measures against such potential threats to national security. The law has made it clear that companies with improper background, such as the foreign company in the aforementioned case, are not permitted to carry out such surveys, but they escaped supervision by subcontracting to, or collaborating/cooperating with, domestic qualified companies. To plug that loophole, domestic businesses need to be extra cautious and report to the national security departments if a foreign contract requires them to carry out survey or mapping jobs in sensitive areas.

A self-regulatory mechanism is needed for these domestic businesses that are qualified to do the work. It would be best if their societies can make it a rule for all members to follow, thus minimizing the cost for all.