June 13, 2013: Tensions between India and China have been growing over the last decade, and now India is paying more attention to Chinese espionage inside India. There has already been a lot of Chinese spying on India via the Internet but now India is taking a closer look at Tibetan exiles. Most (about 70 percent) of the 150,000 Tibetan exiles are in India, which provides economic assistance and diplomatic protection. The exiles have been coming since the 1950s (when China invaded Tibet) and especially after China crushed the 1959 Tibetan rebellion.
The exiles have long complained about Chinese agents among the new refugees and India has tried to be helpful. But those accused were often simply reporting back to their Chinese paymasters what was going on in the refugee community. That could sometimes have disastrous consequence for Tibetan rebels back in Tibet but it did not violate Indian laws. Now that attitude has changed because some of these spies are believed to be reporting mainly information about the Indian military. This is a different matter entirely and the Indians are cracking down, although first they have to find actual Chinese spies who are breaking Indian law.
China has been recruiting Tibetans for its military and espionage services and training some of them to fake being anti-Chinese Tibetans fleeing oppression and seeking sanctuary in India. These agents are trained in the use of modern espionage techniques, and once they establish themselves in India they are supposed to organize and run networks of spies (with cash and technical assistance from China).
Now China is sending more spies, in the form of Tibetan refugees, into India to get a close look at whatever defenses the Indians might have. More of these agents are being found and the Indians believe that there are many more (possibly dozens) that have not been detected.
Intelligence: Chinese Spies Slip Into India
