Greek and French authorities arrested suspected spies in separate operations this week, with both cases involving the alleged transmission of classified military data to China.

Greek military authorities arrested a colonel on Thursday on suspicion of providing classified and top-secret information to China, according to the National Defense General Staff.

The officer was arrested inside the military camp where he was stationed. According to investigators, he is suspected of having access to information about new technologies the Armed Forces are developing and was sending classified information electronically from within his unit.

Greek authorities said there are indications that the officer tried to recruit others into an intelligence network.

The Greek Ministry of Defense said there were “clear indications of the commission of criminal offenses under the Military Criminal Code,” specifically “the collection and transmission of secret information of military importance to third parties, with the risk of causing harm to national interests.”

The officer, who commands a training battalion focused on telecommunications and electronic systems, was stationed at an Air Force unit in Kavouri and had access to classified information from multiple branches of the Greek military and allied countries, according to Greek media reports.

The Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported that the officer allegedly transferred top-secret information using a special classified program. Authorities found a “specially programmed machine” allegedly supplied by Chinese authorities to photograph classified documents and send them to recipients.

Greek media reported that the officer confessed after his arrest, describing being recruited by a Chinese official, possibly at a conference abroad, and accepting passing on the information in return for payment.

The matter began to unravel about two months ago when the CIA informed Greece's National Intelligence Service that a member of the Greek Armed Forces was providing China with sensitive information regarding NATO matters, according to kathimerini.gr.

Much of the material is suspected to be related to NATO projects, which have attracted the interest of NATO allies, particularly the United States.