Chinese ambassador reported arrested over spying allegations

China's ambassador to Iceland is missing and has been arrested over allegations he is a Japanese spy, according to media reports.

Chinese officials have failed to explain the whereabouts of the ambassador, Ma Jisheng and his wife, ever since the former failed to return to his post in Rejkyavik after travelling to China in January.

A New York-based Chinese language site reported on Tuesday that he and his wife had been seized by state security officials on suspicion of espionage. His biography and news stories about him have been removed from the websites of the embassy and ministry of foreign affairs.

Hong Lei, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, said he had no information on whether reports of the arrest were true. He gave the same reply when asked where Mr Ma was and who the Chinese ambassador to Iceland was if Mr Ma was no longer in post.

The Japanese government also declined to comment."We are aware of the media report," a Japanese government official told Reuters news agency. "But it's basically China's domestic issue and therefore the Japanese government would like to refrain from commenting."

The allegations underline the crisis in relations between China and Japan, which have badly deteriorated over a long-running territorial dispute over uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, known as the Diaoyu to the Chinese and Senkakus to the Japanese.

Mr Ma served in China's embassy in Tokyo twice, finishing his last posting in 2008.

Urdur Gunnarsdottir, spokeswoman for Iceland's foreign ministry, confirmed that Mr Ma had been expected to return to Reykyavik in March after a trip to Beijing in January. She said the Chinese embassy in Reykjavik had stated in May that he would not return to his post for personal reasons. There has been a caretaker ambassador since then, Ms Gunnarsdottir said.

A Chinese official said on condiction of anonymity that there had been no official announcement internally at the ministry of foreign affairs.He said a few other director-level diplomats had also been investigated, although it was unclear whether the probes were related to Mr Ma's case.

The official silence is not out of the ordinary in China where people are detained for interrogation for weeks or months at a time without any public notification.

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