What is "Latent" in reality? !

Functions

The Third Department of the General Staff is responsible for "signals intelligence" (technical reconnaissance), that is, the interception, processing and transmission of communication signals from foreign radio stations. According to Mark Stokes, the department is somewhat similar to the National Security Agency (NSA) of the United States. Desmond Ball claimed that the third department was also called the "Technical Department", although there is no way to confirm it.

Explanation

The explanation about the second part also applies to this chapter. This is a highly mysterious field for us, and many things can only be speculated. In fact, I know less about Part Three than Part Two. We have no confidence in almost any of the situations described.

Information sources

Part III has fewer sources than Part II. Eftimiades' information tells us nothing more except that the department does exist and is engaged in technical reconnaissance. There is a page on the FAS website about Part Three, and its source is a Hong Kong report. A brief report in Jane's Defense Weekly stated that China has listening stations in Laos and Myanmar, but did not provide a source. Jane's Intelligence Review published a very interesting and relatively long article written by a man named Desmond Ball from the Australian Defense Force University. This is the primary source of information for the listening stations in the sequence diagram. But here, there is no information to list. Because the article claims: "All references to this article must be approved by the author."

Compiled

Office

This is speculated by an author Organization, it is assumed that all secondary departments of the General Staff have their own administrative centers.

Political Department

This is also an organization speculated by the author. If Eftimiades is correct in saying that the second department has a political department, then the third department probably also has one.

The Eighth Bureau

According to a report in the Washington Times in May 2000, the Eighth Bureau of the Third Ministry is "responsible for intercepting electronic communication signals in the former Soviet Union." *** and the country are also the target range of the bureau. The report claimed that a listening station is located in Dingyuanchen, and its "listening target is the Sino-Russian border area."

The 12th Bureau

This article, also from the Washington Times, pointed out that the 31st Bureau is responsible for "identifying and tracking foreign satellites-that is, U.S. military satellites." The report also said that one of Bureau 12’s facilities is located in Changi.

Other Bureaus

If the Washington Times report is true (although we have no way of verifying it), then it is obvious that the three departments are composed of some numbering bureaus for specific countries (let us call them "regional Bureau") and other numbering offices for special communication systems such as satellite, fax, mobile phones, etc. These bureaus can be called "functional bureaus". However, this is our judgment with a little bit of speculation. But it can be said that if the three departments really have such a structure, then most, if not all, of the various domestic listening stations listed in the three department sequence diagram (Figure 6) are either numbered "regional bureaus" or "functional bureaus". Bureau".

School of Foreign Languages

In the People's Liberation Army intelligence system, this school is regarded as a sister school of the "School of International Relations" of the second department. According to FAS information:

The Luoyang Foreign Languages ??Institute of the People's Liberation Army is led by the Third Department and is responsible for cultivating foreign language talents who can monitor foreign military intelligence. The college was formerly known as the 793 Foreign Languages ??College of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. After the Cultural Revolution, it moved from Zhangjiakou to Luoyang and Nanjing and was divided into two colleges.

Domestic listening stations

It is shown that there are no subordinate agencies of the three ministries here, and instead there are a lot of so-called listening stations. All of the listening stations in the sequence diagram (Figure 6) originated from Ball's report. Each box is labeled with its location and listening target. Ball claimed that the "network control center" of the third department is in Xibeiwang, located in northwest Beijing (Haidian District). He didn't say what the control center was used for.

Foreign Listening Stations

Some public news reports say that the Ministry of Justice does have listening stations outside China. Jane's Defense's Robert Karniol reports that in 1994 Vientiane agreed to allow Beijing to establish three listening stations in Champasak, Laos' southern province. One of them is in Khong, and the location of the other two is unknown. Karniol also said that China also has listening stations in Myanmar, but did not say where they were.

Ball said that as early as 1992, Jane's Defense had mentioned in a report that was considered a rumor that Myanmar agreed to the three ministries to set up a listening station on Coconut Palm Island in the Andaman Sea, which seemed to be used to monitor India. . Ball also said, "...there is obviously a listening station on the stone island near Zhonglin Island in the Paracel Islands, which covers the South China Sea area." Since 1999, some US media reported that: It is speculated that , China and Pakistan cooperated on a listening station project in Lourdes, Cuba, which was originally established with Soviet aid. As long as any of these listening stations actually exists, it will undermine the image that we often hear that "China has no troops stationed abroad."

Office of Legal Counsel

The PLA Daily has mentioned this office in at least one report in the past.

Domestic interception

The Third Department also has an indirect function. Someone once wrote about the Third Department and claimed that in addition to the interception of external communications, the Third Department is also responsible for domestic military networks. Interception of communications. A Hong Kong publication believes that the interception of domestic military network communications is a surveillance mechanism for the People's Liberation Army.

Although they vertically lead listening stations all over the country, the Central Military Commission and the General Staff will not rashly believe in an occasional successful eavesdropping on an enemy station. But the central government is convinced that any wired and wireless communication links between major military regions cannot escape the ears of this listening network. This achieves another goal: to directly supervise and control all activities of major military regions, provincial military regions, and group armies.

Although it sounds harsh - even a bit exaggerated, as Hong Kong media often is - the fact that domestic military network communications are intercepted is likely to be established. However, this is not a "test of loyalty", but a random check on combat readiness and safety.

Relationship with the major military regions

The researcher of this article is a little confused: Who is in charge of the strategic interception troops in each major military region? Is it the Third Department of the General Staff Department in Beijing? Or the Grand Military Region Headquarters? It's probably the former, but we can't find a clear answer from public sources. Desmond Ball said:

The backbone listening stations responsible for signal intelligence collection and processing are operated by the three bureaus of the major military region headquarters, namely Beijing, Shenyang, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Lanzhou, Jinan and Nanjing . These bureaus also control a number of subordinate listening stations located within their respective defense zones.

There are also

These three bureaus led by the Third Department of the General Staff are responsible for operating large-scale ground listening stations, and they are affiliated under the headquarters of the seven military regions. Therefore, they have different functions and target areas. For example, the Third Bureau of the Lanzhou Military Region is responsible for listening to Russian signal communications and has the important mission of providing early warning of Russian missile attacks.

Through the context, it is difficult for us to determine the specific meaning of the word "affiliation".

On the contrary, Hong Kong reporter Huang Yung-nien of Chien Shao believes that the commander and staff of the military region have no right to interfere with the three agencies working in their defense zone.

The listening station is completely an "agency" of the Third Department of the General Staff, and has no affiliation with the provincial military region and large military region where it is stationed. In terms of personnel, staffing, budget, and formation, these listening stations are entirely the sole responsibility of the Third Department of the General Staff and have no relationship with other local garrisons.

Although these explanations are listed, neither Ball nor Huang gave us a reliable answer. So we can't yet draw a conclusion ("affiliated" or "independent") on this question: Who is in charge of the operation of these listening stations? ]

Dingyuan City is also called Dingyuan Camp, commonly known as Prince's Mansion. Located at the western foot of Helan Mountain. After liberation, it was renamed Bayanhot (Mongolian for "rich city") and placed under the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The report also said that a facility of Bureau 12 is located in Changi. Changyi City, Shandong Province, is under the jurisdiction of Weifang

Ball claimed that the "network control center" of the third department is in Xibeiwang, located northwest of Beijing (Haidian District). Xibeiwang is located in Dongbeiwang Township, Haidian District. It is a place name that is familiar to people living in Haidian.

In 1994, Vientiane agreed to allow Beijing to set up three listening stations in Champasak, Southern Province of Laos. Champasak, southern province of Laos

It is speculated that China and Pakistan have cooperated on a listening station project in Lourdes, Cuba.

Lourdes, the former Soviet Union built a large-scale electronic intelligence collection base for the United States here. Russia has abandoned it in recent years

Why are the levels of the three departments so high? Like this, each military region, each service branch, the Logistics Department of the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, the Administration Bureau of the Third Department of the General Staff, the Department of Direct Supply of the General Government, the Academic Affairs Department of the Academy of Military Sciences, the Academic Affairs Department of the National Defense University, the Logistics Department of the Armed Police Headquarters, and those directly under the General Logistics Department Supplier units

1. The Ministry of Health of the General Logistics Department is the highest-level disability assessment management and approval agency in the army. It is responsible for the review and confirmation of the qualifications of the disability assessment and approval agencies at all levels in the army, and is responsible for business guidance and review of the department. Interpretation of methods, and at the same time in charge of the disability assessment and approval work of some units of the General Logistics Department in Beijing.

2. All military regions, services and arms, the Ministry of Health of the Logistics Department of the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, the General Staff Headquarters, the General Political Department, the Administration Bureau of the General Logistics Department (Direct Work Department), and the Health Department of the Logistics Department of the Third Department of the General Staff ( Administrative) Division, the Ministry of Health (Division) of the Academy of Military Science and National Defense University (school), the Ministry of Health of the General Logistics Base Command, and the Health Division of the Logistics Department of the Air Force of all military regions, Xinjiang Military Region, and Tibet Military Region have the responsibility for military officers, civilian cadres, and volunteers. The authority has the right to review and approve disability assessments, and is responsible for the review and approval of disability assessments for officers, civilian cadres and volunteers of the directly supplied units. The Ministry of Health of the Logistics Department of the Shenyang and Lanzhou Military Regions are respectively responsible for the disability evaluation and approval work of the Nenjiang Base of the General Logistics and the Qinghai-Tibet Military Station of the General Logistics for military officers (including civilian cadres) and volunteers.

3. Provincial military regions, all group armies, Beijing Garrison Region, Shanghai Garrison Region, Tianjin Garrison Region, naval bases, fleet aviation, Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense and Second Artillery Corps bases, Southern Xinjiang Military Region, Qamdo Health Department (Section) of the Logistics Department of the military divisions, health departments of all logistics branches and offices, Health Section of the Logistics Department of the General Logistics Qinghai-Tibet Military Station Department, all military medical universities, and the first, second, third, and fourth rear base health of the General Logistics Base Headquarters The office has the power to review and approve the disability of conscripts, and is responsible for the review and approval of the disability of conscripts directly (on behalf of) the unit. The Health Department of the 40th Logistics Department of the Shenyang Military Region is responsible for the disability assessment and approval work of the conscripts at the Nenjiang Base of the General Logistics Department.

Probably the three departments have a large establishment, with tens of thousands and possibly more than 100,000 personnel. The work is highly independent, so it is not managed by the General Staff Administration Bureau and the General Staff Political Department.