Police have charged a Hamilton-area man with attempting to pass secret information on to the Chinese.

Toronto police and the RCMP arrested Qing Quentin Huang of Waterdown. Police allege the Canadian citizen was trying to pass secret information to the Chinese about Canada’s military plans for the arctic.

China disputes Canada’s claim to control of the Northwest Passage.

Huang works for Lloyd’s Register, which has contracted to work on shipbuilding design for the Canadian forces.

National security experts say this arrest highlights the dangers of contracting out defence projects. Dave Perry is a defence researcher at Carleton University. He says the use of outside contractors is becoming more common as National Defence suffers budget cutbacks. And he says it’s no secret that China is interested in any advantage it can get in its dealings with Canada. But officials say  there is no suggestion that Chinese officials would have been receptive to classified information from Huang.

The allegations against Huang have not been proven in court.