China charges Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor with spying
- Pair accused of gathering state secrets and providing them to foreign forces, foreign ministry says
- Ottawa says it ‘strongly condemns’ the move
The two Canadians detained in China since December have been formally arrested for spying, Beijing said on Thursday, in a move that is set to raise tensions between the two countries.
Former diplomat Michael Kovrig was charged with gathering state secrets, while businessman Michael Spavor was charged with stealing and providing secrets for overseas forces, foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a press conference.
“China hopes that Canada will not interfere,” he said.
Lu said the arrests were made “recently”, though did not give an exact date, adding that they had been approved by prosecutors.
Global Affairs Canada, the government department responsible for diplomatic and consular relations, said it had been told about the arrests on Wednesday and opposed them.