Military and national security officials in the United States have become concerned that a particular type of heavy machinery manufactured in China and used on US soil, may be used as a tool of espionage.
According to one US media outlet, the target of the officials’ concern are port cranes produced by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Company Limited (ZPMC), with some even likening this gear to the mythological Trojan horse.
Specifically, the officials worry that these cranes contain “sophisticated sensors” that can track “provenance and destination” of the containers moved by this machinery between shore and cargo ships.
ZPMC cranes are being used at many US ports, including some that are used by the military. Officials now worry that China may be afforded a chance to spy on shipments sent to support US military operations abroad, the media outlet noted.
This development comes after the US military went to great lengths to hunt down and destroy a Chinese balloon that strayed into American airspace last month.
While China insisted that the balloon was merely a wayward weather research craft that entered American skies by accident, US defense officials insisted that it could have been a spy balloon sent to gather data on sensitive sites in the United States.