Under water spying device found in South China Sea: Report

BEIJING: China has recovered an underwater robot in the shape of a torpedo in the disputed South China Sea which officials claim was a foreign spy device capable of taking pictures and satellite communication.

When Huang Yunlai from Hainan province found a one-meter- long, torpedo-like device while fishing three years ago, he took photos of it and informed the province's National Security Bureau immediately.

It is now confirmed that the unmanned underwater machine, disguised to look like a torpedo, is an intelligence device capable of taking pictures with fiber-optic and satellite communication, state-run CCTV reported.

It was secretly placed in the water by a foreign country to obtain information on the Chinese navy fleet's operations at sea, it said.

Experts worried that the acquired information may have been sent back and that there could be many other similar devices that have not been detected in the water, which pose "great hidden dangers" to information security in the South China Sea.