PLA's e-shopping platform aims to prevent leaks
China's first intranet shopping platform is expected to offer soldiers a better online shopping experience without leaking sensitive military-related information, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Daily reported Thursday.
The platform, launched by the PLA Guangzhou Military Area Command on May 1, sells more than 30,000 products at prices relatively lower than those of the external market, and its turnover has exceeded 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) within two months.
The PLA Daily reported that the platform's courier service provides door-to-door delivery to over 80 percent of the garrisoned islands in the Guangzhou Military Area Command.
The merchandise on the intranet shopping platform ranges from household appliances to snacks. Military uniforms and training equipment will also be introduced to the platform to ensure soldiers' needs both in training and in daily life are met, according to the PLA Daily.
The platform is designed to provide better services for soldiers while also preventing breaches of "military secrecy."
"The establishment of the intranet shopping platform can be taken as a successful example of protecting military secrecy without affecting soldiers' daily lives," Song Zhongping, a Beijing-based military expert, told the Global Times on Thursday.
Though the Internet offers increased convenience, it has also facilitated frequent espionage activities in recent years, thus military base authorities are very cautious about the leakage of important information online, Li Wei, an expert at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times on Thursday.
Soldiers and officers may reveal the location of military bases and their personal information when shopping online, posing a grave danger to military secrecy, Song added.
"Viruses inserted on shopping websites may cause leaks of inside information, which can be used by overseas espionage agencies to collect information," Song said.
Experts noted that the platform will have only a limited effect on curbing military information leaks, since a majority of leaks are caused by espionage activities.
