New Zealand’s intelligence service said it disrupted an attempt by China’s Purple Mountain Observatory to install ground-based space equipment capable of collecting intelligence of military value.
The observatory worked with an unnamed New Zealand company that was “likely unaware” of the equipment’s intelligence capability and did not know who would receive the data, according to the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service’s (NZSIS) annual assessment report, Security Threat Environment 2026.
NZSIS assessed that Purple Mountain Observatory’s links to the Chinese regime meant it could be compelled to provide collected information. In this case, the agency said, the data would have been passed on willingly….
Chinese Observatory Tried to Install Intelligence-Capable Space Equipment in New Zealand, Officials Say
