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    "headline": "US Officials: COSCO Ships Intercept Military Communications Off US Coasts",
    "dek": "US officials claim Chinese shipping giant COSCO uses hidden gear to intercept military signals near American shores.",
    "prose": "Two senior officials in the Trump administration stated that Chinese state-owned shipping giant COSCO uses hidden onboard equipment to intercept military communications off the coastlines of targeted nations, including the United States. [^1]\n\nIn January 2025, the Pentagon added COSCO to its list of companies linked to China's military, imposing U.S. government procurement bans and reputational damage. [^2]\n\nThe arrangement reportedly enables China to gather signal communications from commercial and military ships and aircraft across North America, Europe, and Asia. [^3]\n\nThe Chinese embassy in Washington rejected the allegations, with spokesperson Liu Chang stating that the so-called intelligence collection narrative is totally baseless and that the Chinese government would never instruct any enterprise to collect data abroad against local laws. [^4]\n\nOne of the officials said on 2026-09-01 that the advanced equipment aboard the ships is intended to enable China to gather information about military communications technologies and encryption developments. [^5]\n\nThe officials said on 2026-09-01 that COSCO has a decades-long intelligence-collection partnership with Beijing that allows China to collect communication signals from vessels and aircraft operating across Europe, North America, and Asia. [^6]",
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      "statement": "Two senior officials in the Trump administration stated that Chinese state-owned shipping giant COSCO uses hidden onboard equipment to intercept military communications off the coastlines of targeted nations, including the United States.",
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      "statement": "In January 2025, the Pentagon added COSCO to its list of companies linked to China's military, imposing U.S. government procurement bans and reputational damage.",
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      "statement": "The arrangement reportedly enables China to gather signal communications from commercial and military ships and aircraft across North America, Europe, and Asia.",
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      "statement": "The Chinese embassy in Washington rejected the allegations, with spokesperson Liu Chang stating that the so-called intelligence collection narrative is totally baseless and that the Chinese government would never instruct any enterprise to collect data abroad against local laws.",
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      "statement": "The officials said on 2026-09-01 that COSCO has a decades-long intelligence-collection partnership with Beijing that allows China to collect communication signals from vessels and aircraft operating across Europe, North America, and Asia.",
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