An illegal Chinese migrant was arrested in California after sneaking into a military base and refusing to leave, raising fears that Beijing’s spies are trying to infiltrate sensitive locations in the US
Border police officers on his way to a Marine Corps base, following a nameless man Chinese national ‘who entered the base (without) permission’ also ‘ignored orders to leave.’
“It was confirmed that the person concerned was in the country illegally. His purpose and intent behind his actions remain under investigation,” Chief Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino wrote on X Friday.
This latest breach comes as the US increasingly faces sensitive military bases being infiltrated by the Chinese.
There have been more than a hundred cases in recent years where US military bases have been infiltrated by Chinese nationals.
Chinese nationals posing as “tourists” walked to a rocket launch site in New Mexico last year, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Others acted as divers to get close to a missile launch site in Florida, and another group claimed to be staying at an Army base in Alaska.
Border Patrol agents went to the Marine Corps base after an unnamed Chinese national “who entered the base (without) permission” also “ignored orders to leave”
Migrants who are part of the ‘Viacrusis Migrant’ walk in a caravan in the municipality of Villa Comatitlan in the state of Chiapas, Mexico on March 28=7.
Fort Wainright in Alaska, the center of the U.S. military’s operations in the Arctic, was the subject of an apparent espionage attempt, the Wall Street Journal reports.
A group of Chinese nationals were stopped while diving near missiles in Cape Canaveral, Florida
The officers have reportedly claimed to be tourists who have become “lost” and unable to find their way to a Burger King or McDonalds that happen to be close to a US military base.
Government officials say Chinese nationals are often “forced into service” and required to report their findings to the Chinese government.
According to the report, the FBI, Defense Department and other agencies are aware of the infiltrations and have held summits to address the problem.
The infiltration comes just months after the Chinese spy balloon crossed the US. which officials say had rudimentary flight controls, passed over a number of nuclear missile facilities in late January and early February.
The balloon was eventually shot down by an F-22 Raptor fighter off the coast of South Carolina.
President Joe Biden was criticized for downplaying the Chinese spy balloon floating across the US, claiming Beijing may not have been aware of the operation.
Most Chinese nationals who are apprehended are cited, given small fines and asked not to return, as trespassing is generally not considered a federal crime.
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in DC called the report “purely ill-intentioned fabrication.”
“We urge relevant US officials to abandon the Cold War mentality, stop baseless accusations and do more things conducive to increasing mutual trust between the two countries and friendship between the two peoples,” said Liu Pengyu.
In what the Journal described as a “recent case,” a group of Chinese citizens claimed they were staying at a Holiday Inn in Fort Wainright, Alaska.
Security at the base was immediately suspected as tourism in the area is extremely unusual. The base is host to the U.S. Army’s 11th Airborne Division.
Emily Harding, a former official at the Senate Intelligence Committee, told WSJ that the Chinese spy operation is more of a numbers game.
‘The advantage of the Chinese is that they are willing to recruit people in large numbers. “If a few of them get caught, it will be very difficult for the U.S. government to prove anything other than trespassing, and those who don’t get caught will likely collect something useful,” Harding said.
In 2019, three Chinese nationals were sentenced to prison for illegally taking photos at a naval base in Florida.
Lyuyou Liao, 27, was sentenced to 12 months in prison after pleading guilty to illegally entering NAS Key West and taking photographs and video of property in the station’s Truman Annex.
Members of the Mexican military travel with migrants as they walk toward the U.S. border in a caravan in Huixtla, Mexico, on March 27
Migrants build their own international bridge at Gate 36 to enter the United States near Gate 36 on the North American side in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on March 28
President Joe Biden downplayed the Chinese spy balloon that floated across the US in February, claiming Beijing may not have been aware of the operation
Two others, Jielun Zhang, 25, and Yuhao Wang, 24, were sentenced to 12 months and nine months in prison respectively for entering the base in January 2019 and taking photos of the military and naval infrastructure.
The same year, a Chinese woman was sentenced to eight months in prison after entering then-President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate with electronic devices and two passports.
Also in 2019, two Chinese citizens were deported from the US after attempting to drive to Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia Beach, reported the Virginia pilot.