On Thursday, according to the German prosecutor, Germany charged three individuals for allegedly spying on advanced naval technologies for China and providing Chinese intelligence with marine technology information. They allegedly collected data on boat engines, sonar, drones, and other technology. They have also illegally exported specialised lasers to China, which have "dual-use" goods for both civilian and military purposes.

The federal prosecutor's office said three German citizens, named Herwig F., Ina F. and Thomas R., have been charged with "working for Chinese intelligence services." Since 2017, Thomas R. "worked as an agent for an employee of the Chinese intelligence service MSS based in China," prosecutors stated.

The suspect reportedly contacted married couple Herwig F. and Ina F., who have a company in Düsseldorf. They both are accused of collecting "information about innovative technologies that could be used for military purposes."

The prosecutor said the couple was using the company to create contacts with other businesses and scientific institutions. However, between February 2017 and April 2024, "they repeatedly collected information that could in particular be useful for expanding China's naval combat power". The information was reportedly sent back to China via Thomas R.

In one case, the couple allegedly contracted with a German university to provide a "knowledge transfer" to China.

The agreement's first phase was to make a study for a Chinese "contract partner" on cutting-edge ship engine technology. Prosecutors said that MSS employees backed the Chinese partner company, and Chinese state authorities funded the project.

The trio were arrested in April of last year and formally charged in December. Thomas R. was kept in pre-trial detention; the couple was released in October after their arrest warrants were suspended.

A Chinese who was spying on defence industry installations was arrested in Germany in October. The woman had reported Jian Ji, another suspected Chinese spy who is currently under arrest, worked in the far-right German deputy office in the European Parliament.

Police have opened another investigation in December for a Chinese man who was reported to have taken photographs at a naval base on Germany's Baltic Sea coast.