For a relatively measly amount of money, two US Navy sailors chose greed over loyalty to the United States when they allegedly sold military secrets to the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
The intelligence officer continued to request information in 2023, including information about the overhaul and upgrades to the Essex. Specifically, he requested blueprints, especially those related to modifications to the flight deck. Wei provided information related to the repairs the Essex was undergoing, as well as other mechanical problems with similar vessels.
During the alleged conspiracy, the intelligence officer instructed Wei to gather US military information that was not public and admonished him not to discuss their relationship and to destroy any evidence regarding the nature of their relationship and their activities.
“We have entrusted members of our military with tremendous responsibility and great faith,” said US Attorney Randy Grossman for the Southern District of California. “Our nation’s safety and security are in their hands. When a soldier or sailor chooses cash over country, and hands over national defense information in an ultimate act of betrayal, the United States will aggressively investigate and prosecute.”
US v. Wenheng Zhao
Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, aka Thomas Zhao, 26, of Monterey Park, Calif., was arrested following an indictment by a federal grand jury, charging him with receiving bribes in exchange for transmitting sensitive U.S. military information to an individual posing as a maritime economic researcher, but who was actually an intelligence officer from the PRC.
The indictment alleges that Zhao, who worked at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme and held a US security clearance, received bribes from a Chinese intelligence officer in exchange for violating his official duties as a US sailor by, among other actions, disclosing non-public sensitive US military information.
Beginning in August 2021 and continuing through at least May 2023, at the Chinese intelligence officer’s direction, Zhao allegedly violated his official duties to protect sensitive military information by surreptitiously recording, and then transmitting to the intelligence officer, U.S. military information, photographs and videos. According to the indictment, the Chinese intelligence officer told Zhao that the intelligence officer was a maritime economic researcher seeking the information for investment decisions.
In exchange for bribes, Zhao allegedly sent the Chinese military officer non-public and controlled operational plans for a large-scale US military exercise in the Indo-Pacific Region, which detailed the specific location and timing of Naval force movements, amphibious landings, maritime operations and logistics support.
The indictment further alleges that in exchange for bribes, Zhao also photographed electrical diagrams and blueprints for a radar system stationed on a U.S. military base in Okinawa, Japan.
The intelligence officer allegedly directed Zhao to conceal their relationship and to destroy evidence of the unlawful and corrupt scheme.
In exchange for the sensitive information Zhao provided – information Zhao accessed as a result of his position within the US Navy – the Chinese intelligence officer paid Zhao approximately $14,866, the indictment alleges.
“By sending this sensitive military information to an intelligence officer employed by a hostile foreign state, the defendant betrayed his sacred oath to protect our country and uphold the Constitution,” said US Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California.
If convicted, Zhao faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
In two separate cases in the Southern and Central Districts of California, two US Navy sailors, Jinchao Wei and Wenheng Zhao were arrested this week for selling sensitive military information to the PRC, which federal authorities say is known for its aggressive espionage activities.
“These individuals stand accused of violating the commitments they made to protect the United States and betraying the public trust, to the benefit of the PRC government,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
In the San Diego news conference held Thursday, Stacey Moy, the topFBI agent in San Diego, told reporters that he wanted to emphasize that “this is not and will never be an indictment of the Chinese people or ethnically Chinese Americans.”
"There is no bigger, multigenerational threat to the United States" than China, Moy continued. . Beijing "will stop at nothing to attack the United States in its strategic plan to become the world's sole superpower."
"There is no bigger, multigenerational threat to the United States" than China, Moy continued. . Beijing "will stop at nothing to attack the United States in its strategic plan to become the world's sole superpower."
Both Wei and Zhao pleaded not guilty Thursday in federal courts in San Diego and Los Angeles. They will be remain in US custody until their detention hearings, which will take place Aug. 8.
“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,” said Assistant Director Suzanne Turner of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division.
“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,” said Assistant Director Suzanne Turner of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division.
US v. Jinchao Wei
A US Navy sailor, Jinchao Wei, aka Patrick Wei, was arrested Aug. 2 on espionage charges as he arrived for work at Naval Base San Diego, the homeport of the Pacific Fleet. He was indicted for conspiracy to send national defense information to an intelligence officer working for the PRC.
The indictment, unsealed Thursday morning, alleges that Wei, was an active-duty sailor on the amphibious assault ship the U.S.S. Essex stationed at Naval Base San Diego. In his role as a machinist’s mate, Wei held a US security clearance and had access to sensitive national defense information about the ship’s weapons, propulsion and desalination systems. Amphibious assault ships like the Essex resemble small aircraft carriers and allow the US military to project power and maintain presence by serving as the cornerstone of the Navy’s amphibious readiness and expeditionary strike capabilities.
According to the indictment, in February 2022, Wei began communicating with an intelligence officer from the PRC who requested that Wei provide information about the U.S.S. Essex and other Navy ships. Specifically, the Chinese intelligence officer tasked Wei with passing him photos, videos and documents concerning U.S. Navy ships and their systems. The two agreed to hide their communications by deleting records of their conversations and using encrypted methods of communication.
At the request of the intelligence officer, between March 2022 and the present, Wei sent photographs and videos of the Essex, disclosed the locations of various Navy ships and described defensive weapons of the Essex. In exchange for this information, the intelligence officer paid Wei thousands of dollars over the course of the conspiracy.
The indictment further alleges that in June 2022, Wei sent the intelligence officer approximately 30 technical and mechanical manuals. These manuals contained export control warnings and detailed the operations of multiple systems aboard the Essex and similar ships, including power, steering, aircraft and deck elevators, as well as damage and casualty controls. The intelligence officer confirmed with Wei that at least 10 of those manuals were useful to him. For passage of those materials, the indictment alleges that Wei was paid $5,000.
In June 2022, the intelligence officer requested that Wei provide information about the number and training of US Marines during an upcoming international maritime warfare exercise. In response to this request, Wei sent multiple photographs of military equipment to the intelligence officer.
In August 2022, Wei sent an additional 26 technical and mechanical manuals related to the power structure and operation of the Essex and similar ships. The manuals contained warnings that this was technical data subject to export controls and that it was deemed “critical technology” by the US Navy.
The indictment further alleges that in October 2022, Wei sent a technical manual to the intelligence officer describing the layout and location of certain departments, including berthing quarters and weapons systems. Specifically, Wei sent a weapons control systems manual for the Essex and similar ships. This manual contained export-controlled data that could not be exported without a license from the U.S. government. The indictment alleges that Wei knowingly violated the International Traffic in Arms Regulations by transmitting this manual to the Chinese intelligence officer without obtaining a required license.
A US Navy sailor, Jinchao Wei, aka Patrick Wei, was arrested Aug. 2 on espionage charges as he arrived for work at Naval Base San Diego, the homeport of the Pacific Fleet. He was indicted for conspiracy to send national defense information to an intelligence officer working for the PRC.
The indictment, unsealed Thursday morning, alleges that Wei, was an active-duty sailor on the amphibious assault ship the U.S.S. Essex stationed at Naval Base San Diego. In his role as a machinist’s mate, Wei held a US security clearance and had access to sensitive national defense information about the ship’s weapons, propulsion and desalination systems. Amphibious assault ships like the Essex resemble small aircraft carriers and allow the US military to project power and maintain presence by serving as the cornerstone of the Navy’s amphibious readiness and expeditionary strike capabilities.
According to the indictment, in February 2022, Wei began communicating with an intelligence officer from the PRC who requested that Wei provide information about the U.S.S. Essex and other Navy ships. Specifically, the Chinese intelligence officer tasked Wei with passing him photos, videos and documents concerning U.S. Navy ships and their systems. The two agreed to hide their communications by deleting records of their conversations and using encrypted methods of communication.
At the request of the intelligence officer, between March 2022 and the present, Wei sent photographs and videos of the Essex, disclosed the locations of various Navy ships and described defensive weapons of the Essex. In exchange for this information, the intelligence officer paid Wei thousands of dollars over the course of the conspiracy.
The indictment further alleges that in June 2022, Wei sent the intelligence officer approximately 30 technical and mechanical manuals. These manuals contained export control warnings and detailed the operations of multiple systems aboard the Essex and similar ships, including power, steering, aircraft and deck elevators, as well as damage and casualty controls. The intelligence officer confirmed with Wei that at least 10 of those manuals were useful to him. For passage of those materials, the indictment alleges that Wei was paid $5,000.
In June 2022, the intelligence officer requested that Wei provide information about the number and training of US Marines during an upcoming international maritime warfare exercise. In response to this request, Wei sent multiple photographs of military equipment to the intelligence officer.
In August 2022, Wei sent an additional 26 technical and mechanical manuals related to the power structure and operation of the Essex and similar ships. The manuals contained warnings that this was technical data subject to export controls and that it was deemed “critical technology” by the US Navy.
The indictment further alleges that in October 2022, Wei sent a technical manual to the intelligence officer describing the layout and location of certain departments, including berthing quarters and weapons systems. Specifically, Wei sent a weapons control systems manual for the Essex and similar ships. This manual contained export-controlled data that could not be exported without a license from the U.S. government. The indictment alleges that Wei knowingly violated the International Traffic in Arms Regulations by transmitting this manual to the Chinese intelligence officer without obtaining a required license.
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US NAVY The USS Essex patrols the sea lanes in Southeast Asia. |
The intelligence officer continued to request information in 2023, including information about the overhaul and upgrades to the Essex. Specifically, he requested blueprints, especially those related to modifications to the flight deck. Wei provided information related to the repairs the Essex was undergoing, as well as other mechanical problems with similar vessels.
During the alleged conspiracy, the intelligence officer instructed Wei to gather US military information that was not public and admonished him not to discuss their relationship and to destroy any evidence regarding the nature of their relationship and their activities.
“We have entrusted members of our military with tremendous responsibility and great faith,” said US Attorney Randy Grossman for the Southern District of California. “Our nation’s safety and security are in their hands. When a soldier or sailor chooses cash over country, and hands over national defense information in an ultimate act of betrayal, the United States will aggressively investigate and prosecute.”
US v. Wenheng Zhao
Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, aka Thomas Zhao, 26, of Monterey Park, Calif., was arrested following an indictment by a federal grand jury, charging him with receiving bribes in exchange for transmitting sensitive U.S. military information to an individual posing as a maritime economic researcher, but who was actually an intelligence officer from the PRC.
The indictment alleges that Zhao, who worked at Naval Base Ventura County in Port Hueneme and held a US security clearance, received bribes from a Chinese intelligence officer in exchange for violating his official duties as a US sailor by, among other actions, disclosing non-public sensitive US military information.
Beginning in August 2021 and continuing through at least May 2023, at the Chinese intelligence officer’s direction, Zhao allegedly violated his official duties to protect sensitive military information by surreptitiously recording, and then transmitting to the intelligence officer, U.S. military information, photographs and videos. According to the indictment, the Chinese intelligence officer told Zhao that the intelligence officer was a maritime economic researcher seeking the information for investment decisions.
In exchange for bribes, Zhao allegedly sent the Chinese military officer non-public and controlled operational plans for a large-scale US military exercise in the Indo-Pacific Region, which detailed the specific location and timing of Naval force movements, amphibious landings, maritime operations and logistics support.
The indictment further alleges that in exchange for bribes, Zhao also photographed electrical diagrams and blueprints for a radar system stationed on a U.S. military base in Okinawa, Japan.
The intelligence officer allegedly directed Zhao to conceal their relationship and to destroy evidence of the unlawful and corrupt scheme.
In exchange for the sensitive information Zhao provided – information Zhao accessed as a result of his position within the US Navy – the Chinese intelligence officer paid Zhao approximately $14,866, the indictment alleges.
“By sending this sensitive military information to an intelligence officer employed by a hostile foreign state, the defendant betrayed his sacred oath to protect our country and uphold the Constitution,” said US Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California.
If convicted, Zhao faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
The allegations and arrests did not surprise Tai Ming Cheung, a UC San Diego scholar, who was interviewed by the San Diego Union-Tribune. “This is not surprising given that the U.S. and China are engaged in a very intense struggle over power, especially in the military domain,” said Cheung, director of the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation.
Tensions have grown between the US and the PRC as the two superpowers jockey for influence in Asia. The US government and business interests treat Taiwan, a province of China, as a separate nation in business dealings and military operations.
In the West Philippine Sea, China has taken over some islands just miles off the Philippines coast and turned them into military installations. An international court has ruled in favor of the Philippines but the PRC has chosen to ignore the court. Much of Asia's sea traffic sails through these waters.
In both potential flashpoints, the PRC and the US have tested and harassed each other in several incidents in the air and on the sea. Experts fear an overzealous pilot or Navy captain or a miscalculation could easily escalate the two nations into a confrontation.
“The Chinese spend a lot of their efforts getting as much intelligence as they can, and the Navy and Marines are very much part of that mix,” Cheung told the San Diego newspaper. “Both sides need to know what the other side’s militaries are doing at any moment in time.”
The espionage strategy of the PRC was exposed this year upon the discovery and downing of a Chinese spy balloon floating across the US earlier this year sparked alarm bells in the US as media and the military tracked its path.
In addition, this year the FBI arrested several individuals (FYI: and here) in the US who have been accused of harassing and threatening US residents of Chinese descent for their alleged anti-PRC and anti-Chinese Communist Party views and activities.
FBI director Christopher A. Wray, carefully distinguishing the PRC espionage efforts and the Chinese American community, warned Congress earlier this year, “There’s no country that presents a more significant threat to our innovation, our ideas our economic security, our national security than the Chinese government.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the blog Views From the Edge.
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