Three Germans went on trial on Tuesday, accused of spying for China by supplying it with information on hi-tech equipment with military use.
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The defendants are a married couple identified only as Herwig F. and Ina F., aged 73 and 69, and another man, 60-year-old Thomas R., on trial in the western city of Düsseldorf.
The three were arrested in April of last year. The couple were provisionally released in October, while Thomas R. remains in custody.
Prosecutors say they collected information on technology including boat engines, sonar systems, propulsion systems for armoured vehicles and military-grade drones.
They allegedly gathered the intelligence from February 2017 until their arrest.
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Prosecutors accuse the three of obtaining the information for China’s Ministry of State Security, with a special focus on intelligence China deemed useful to build up its maritime combat power.