China remains silent about the status of its Iceland envoy Ma Jisheng amid rumors that he has been detained for spying for Japan.

It was reported that Ma was arrested for providing information to Japan regarding "state secrets."

But when media outlets asked Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei whether the allegations were true, he said, "I have no information on this."

Like Us on Facebook

Hong said the same when asked about the whereabouts of Ma and his wife.

Additionally, the Chinese embassy in Iceland has remained mum about the issue.

Ma's qualifications are no loner in the embassy's website and there is a blank space in what would originally be Ma's name in the welcoming address.

In January this year, the Chinese ambassador left Iceland and went to China, but did not return in March as planned.

In a statement released by Iceland's foreign ministry spokesperson Urdur Gunnarsdottir to AFP, he said Jisheng was not replaced as China's envoy to Iceland, but had "personal reasons" for not making it back to Reykjavik.

Gunnarsdottir added that a "caretaker ambassador" has been taking over Ma's place since his alleged "disappearance."

However, according to Mingjing News, a New York-based Chinese-language website, the ambassador and his wife were taken by the Ministry of State Security officers in February due to suspicion of espionage.

Ma served as a high-ranking ambassador to Japan for four years from year 2004 to 2008.

Ma's absence from Iceland was first reported by the country's media, saying that the diplomat and his wife had "disappeared."

He has been serving as China's ambassador to Iceland since December 2012.

The suspicions regarding the espionage is a delicate issue given the strained relationship between China and Japan.

Meanwhile, a Japanese government official told Reuters that Japan will not be involved in the matter because it was "China's domestic issue."

TagsMa jisheng, spy, espionage, Iceland, arrested diplomat