Foreign national deported for illegal mapping

A Japanese national was caught illegally surveying and mapping in Shaanxi Province and was deported, marking the latest foreigner involved in such misconduct in China, said an official quoted by Shaanxi-based Chinese Business View on Sunday.

The Japanese individual began mapping in Qingyang, Gansu Province, along the Qinling Mountains, with surveying and mapping equipment, employing local cars and drivers to disguise himself as a tourist, said an official with the Shaanxi Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation. He was caught in Baoji, Shaanxi Province.

"Their mapping is for military purposes in most cases," said Zhang Zhaozhong, a military expert at the PLA National Defense University.

Foreigners caught illegally mapping typically focus on China's northwestern regions including Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai provinces and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where many space centers, missile bases, nuclear bases, and testing areas for experimental weapons are located, Zhang explained, adding that exploring the underground resources boasted by those regions is another one of their goals.

An American recently caught had divided a mountain into a grid pattern in his mapping, said the Shaanxi official. "His map is likely to be used for launching cruise missiles," Zhang deduced.

Mou Naixia, an associate professor of surveying and mapping with the Shandong University of Science and Technology, told the Global Times that a lack of accurate maps in the west is another reason for illegal mapping in those areas, considering that China itself has just completed the Western China Mapping Project.

The two foreigners were deported, which is a lenient punishment, Hong Daode, a legal professor with the China University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times.

Foreigners involved in illegal mapping cases are usually fined, have all their records and equipment confiscated and deported, said Hong.

"It is difficult to file charges as no evidence can be found to prove that their mapping posed a threat to China's national security. It is also hard to prove that they have actually transmitted the information, so the only law they can be proven to have broken is mapping without obtaining prior approval," Hong said.

The Yunnan government initiated an investigation into Coca-Cola for illegally mapping part of the province using electronic devices in 2013.