WASHINGTON, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Two U.S. Navy sailors have been arrested on charges of handing over sensitive national security material to China, U.S. officials said Thursday.
Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, 26, was charged with conspiracy and bribetaking in connection with taking nearly $15,000 in exchange for photographs and videos of sensitive U.S. military information, the officials said. U.S. Navy sailor, Jinchao Wei, whose age was not disclosed, was charged with conspiring to send national defense information to China in exchange for thousands of dollars.
Assistant Attorney General Matt Olsen told reporters in San Diego that, because of the men's actions, “sensitive military info ended up in the hands of the People’s Republic of China.”
Zhao is accused of sending his Chinese handler plans for U.S. military exercises in the Indo-Pacific region, electrical diagrams and blueprints for a radar system on a U.S. military base in Okinawa, Japan and security details for U.S. naval facilities in Ventura County and San Clemente Island outside Los Angeles, according to U.S. officials.
Wei is accused of disclosing information about the USS Essex, an amphibious assault ship where he served, as well as other American warships, including dozens of technical manuals laying out the Essex's weapons, power structure and operations.
The USS Essex, a U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship, arrives in Hong Kong harbour for a scheduled port visit, November 16, 2010. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo
Contact details for Wei and Zhao could not immediately be located.
U.S. officials at the press conference condemned China's espionage campaign Thursday.
"There is no bigger, multigenerational threat to the United States" than China, said FBI Special Agent Stacey Moy. Beijing"will stop at nothing to attack the United States in its strategic plan to become the world's sole superpower."
The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately return a message seeking comment on the allegations.
U.S.-China relations have been tense for years over a range of national security and trade issues. The United States has accused China of espionage and cyberattacks, a charge that Beijing has rejected. China has also declared that it is under threat from spies.
Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Raphael Satter in Washington; Editing by Mark Porter, Alison Williams, Jonathan Oatis and Cynthia Osterman
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Berkyjay on August 4th, 2023 at 16:44 UTC »
I'm really curious how Chinese immigrants are able to join the military and be put into sensitive positions. I know they've been naturalized but you'd think some more scrutiny would be called for. But maybe that's how they were caught?
Yelesa on August 4th, 2023 at 13:20 UTC »
US military as a whole seems to have some serious systemic issues with leaks, they appear to be much more lax than they should be in allowing people having access to sensitive information. In many other countries these type of people simply wouldn’t be allowed around that kind of information at all.
I remember when Discord leaks were posted that a simple background check up on the leaker showed he had been flagged by the local police force of his hometown because he had made school shooting threats. Someone like him should not be allowed in the military at all, let alone around sensitive intelligence information.
Gars0n on August 4th, 2023 at 12:10 UTC »
Ruin your life for $15k? Risk v Reward seems way outta balance. But spies I guess aren't targeting the smartest sailors.