Tuesday, June 05, 2007, 6/05/2007 01:18:00 PM

China Denies Attempting to Steal Military Technology Trade Secrets

By Todd
India's Khaleej Times Online is reporting that China denied it was trying to steal US military secrets, one day after US federal prosecutors said three people had pleaded guilty to trying to send China sensitive data on submarine technology.

‘The idea of so-called Chinese theft of US military secrets is groundless and reflects ulterior motives,’ foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told reporters.

The three suspects were relatives of a US engineer of Chinese origin who was found guilty in a US court last month of conspiracy to smuggle sensitive technology about US Navy submarines to China.

The engineer, Chi Mak, worked for a US Navy contractor that develops the technology to silence submarines.

The charges date back to 2005, when police arrested two of the suspects at Los Angeles airport as they were ready to board a plane for Hong Kong carrying a CD with the data in their baggage.

The case is the latest in a string of prosecutions in the United States involving arms trade with China.
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