Chinese citizens have illicitly gained access to military installations and other sensitive locations in the United States on more than 100 occasions in recent years. This has prompted federal inquiries into potential espionage activities, as reported on Monday.
Disturbing instances encompass individuals entering a U.S. missile range in New Mexico, scuba divers venturing near a rocket launch facility and the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, as reported to the Wall Street Journal by officials.
Additionally, some have employed drones to capture intricate aerial imagery of critical military installations, and the Pentagon has verified incidents of individuals bypassing security checkpoints.
Interestingly, a significant number of these potential trespassers assert they are perplexed tourists who mistakenly believe they have accommodations at an on-base hotel. When confronted by security personnel, they frequently employ what appears to be pre-rehearsed language, as noted in the report.
Last year, several federal entities, such as the Defense Department and the FBI, along with various other agencies, conducted an assessment to explore ways to curb these efforts, which officials, as disclosed to the WSJ, perceive as a type of espionage.
Congress could contemplate potential legislation, as suggested by Rep. Jason Crow (D- Colo.), to enhance the management of security at these sensitive locations. Presently, trespassing regulations primarily fall under state and local jurisdiction rather than federal oversight.
Additional cases involving Chinese citizens gaining access to extremely sensitive locations involve apparent breaches at the White House and former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
According to officials, Chinese nationals, posing as tourists, strayed from the designated tour zone at the White House to capture images of the premises, including communication equipment and the locations of Secret Service personnel, before being escorted away.
Furthermore, in 2019, a Chinese woman was sentenced to eight months in prison after being found guilty of unlawfully entering Mar-a-Lago. At the time of her apprehension, she was in possession of two passports, four cellphones, and various other electronic devices.
In numerous instances, as conveyed by officials to the WSJ, individuals discovered trespassing on military bases have been briefly detained and subsequently escorted out of the country.
The newspaper noted that none of these cases seem to have led to charges of espionage.
However, in 2019, two Chinese nationals were expelled from the United States on suspicion of espionage after they, accompanied by their wives, entered Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek in Virginia, a highly sensitive military facility where Navy SEALs receive training.
Base authorities employed a fire truck to block the vehicle’s path in that particular incident.
Pentagon Spokeswoman Sue Gough emphasized that these incidents are generally of a minor nature, and thus far, none of them have raised concerns related to espionage.
She pointed out that there are over 10,000 controlled turnarounds of individuals who arrive at military base entrances each day. The majority of these cases involve confused drivers who are redirected without any issues.
