Are these pigeons Chinese spies?

 

Representative photoA flock of pigeons were believed to have been sent for spying on Vietnam by the Chinese government. The feathered "foreign agents" were caught in central Vietnam, after Chinese characters were found stamped on their wings with red ink, as well as having mysterious rings around their ankles.
A local news site reported that 16 of the birds were caught by residents of Da Nang City since last November.
According to a police officer, the birds were traced by the markings on their wings, which turned out to be their racing names and club registration numbers.

 

 

The Vietnamese Police, meanwhile, cleared the birds of "espionage charges" after it was revealed that they actually belonged to a racing club, the metro.co.uk reported.
It has transpired that the pigeons belonged to racing clubs based in China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Relations between Vietnam and China became strained last year after China began to extract oil in the South China Sea.

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