Two California based Navy sailors were arrested in separate cases of spying. Both were “accused of passing sensitive national defense information and military secrets to Chinese agents in exchange for money.” They were arrested on Wednesday, August 2, and the DOJ made an announcement about it on Thursday.
Navy spies arrested
According to the official Just Us Department announcement, the two Navy sailors handed the Pooh Bear “a blueprint for a radar system, technical manuals for vessels, operational plans for military exercises in the Indo-Pacific and details of defensive weapons.”
Apparently, they were working directly with Chinese intelligence officers.
The FBI isn’t happy about more national secrets being handed to the Chinese, especially from moles burrowed deeply inside the Navy Department. “These arrests are a reminder of the relentless, aggressive efforts of the People’s Republic of China to undermine our democracy and threaten those who defend it.”
🚨 Two Chinese-born spies employed by U.S. Navy with ‘Secret’ security clearances passed extremely sensitive military information to a Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) officer “employed by a hostile foreign state (China)”. Jinchao Wei and Wenheng Zhao were arrested. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/j6e0lVKIO8
— 🇺🇸 Kyle Bass 🇹🇼 (@Jkylebass) August 4, 2023
Suzanne Turner, who serves as assistant director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division, issued a bulletin about it. “The PRC compromised enlisted personnel to secure sensitive military information that could seriously jeopardize U.S. national security.”
It’s easy to see why the Navy “did not immediately return a request for comment and service records on both men.” Their names indicate Asian descent. It’s another black eye for the Pentagon after that “21-year-old airman leaked hundreds of classified U.S. military documents on Discord” recently.
Both of the sailors arrested had security clearances. Washington Post notes that “It was not clear whether either service member knew about the other’s alleged actions.”
National Security concerns
Obviously, Navy sailors feeding sensitive blueprints to the commies isn’t a good thing.
“The People’s Republic of China’s continuing ability to exploit vulnerabilities, particularly financial vulnerabilities, of the cleared community is of serious national security concern as it puts our ability to protect these national secrets at an ongoing risk.”
The first of the spying sailors is listed as “machinist’s mate Jinchao Wei, also known as Patrick Wei.” The 22-year old was nabbed when “he showed up for work at Naval Base San Diego.” They charged him with “four counts related to leaking sensitive information, including the crime of espionage.” Court documents allege that “Wei started communicating with a Chinese intelligence officer in February 2022 about the amphibious assault ship he worked on, the USS Essex, and other ships.”
Chinese-Americans Jinchao Wei, 22, and Wenheng Zhao, 26, charged with spying for China.
| The Guardian https://t.co/Red0xHK1R4
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) August 4, 2023
Since March of 2022, “Wei told the agent about where certain Navy ships were located and sent images and footage of the Essex for thousands of dollars, according to the indictment. In one case, for $5,000, he sent roughly 30 ship manuals that described damage controls and systems operations, authorities alleged.” There was more and he forked over a whole lot of “critical technology.”
The second Navy spy is Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, 26, also known as Thomas Zhao. He was “arrested after allegedly sending sensitive military information to someone posing as a maritime economic researcher in exchange for money.” The “researcher” turned out to be a Chinese intelligence officer. Zhao worked at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme. He thoughtfully provided “photographs, recordings and videos of a radar system’s blueprints on a U.S. base in Japan and other information to the intelligence officer beginning in August 2021.”
The cache of intelligence included “the location and timing of naval movements for a large-scale military exercise and allegedly continued until at least May of this year.” His Chinese handler “paid Zhao nearly $15,000 for the information while making sure he destroyed any evidence.” Apparently, the rat didn’t cover his tracks well enough.
