Report: Chinese Nationals Posing as Tourists to Access U.S. Military Bases
“They range from Chinese nationals found crossing into a U.S. missile range in New Mexico to what appeared to be scuba divers swimming in murky waters near a U.S. government rocket-launch site in Florida.”
The Wall Street Journal reported that the government started investigating reports of Chinese nationals posing as tourists to gain access to U.S. military bases at least 100 times in the past few years:
The Defense Department, FBI and other agencies held a review last year to try to limit these incidents, which involve people whom officials have dubbed gate-crashers because of their attempts—either by accident or intentionally—to get onto U.S. military bases and other installations without proper authorization. They range from Chinese nationals found crossing into a U.S. missile range in New Mexico to what appeared to be scuba divers swimming in murky waters near a U.S. government rocket-launch site in Florida.
The incidents, which U.S. officials describe as a form of espionage, appear designed to test security practices at U.S. military installations and other federal sites. Officials familiar with the practice say the individuals are typically Chinese nationals pressed into service and required to report back to the Chinese government.
The FBI said, “The Chinese government is engaged in a broad, diverse campaign of theft and malign influence without regard to laws or international norms that the FBI will not tolerate.”
The Chinese Embassy brushed off the allegations: “We urge the relevant U.S. officials to abandon the Cold War mentality, stop groundless accusations, and do more things that are conducive to enhancing mutual trust between the two countries and friendship between the two peoples.”
A few incidents appear harmless, like lost tourists who took the wrong turn due to Google Maps telling them the closest restaurant is on a military base.
But there are frightening encounters, too:
Officials described incidents in which Chinese nationals say they have a reservation at an on-base hotel. In a recent case, a group of Chinese nationals claiming they were tourists, tried to push past guards at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, saying they had reservations at a commercial hotel on the base. The base is home to the Army’s 11th Airborne Division, which is focused on Arctic warfare.
These cases at times occur in rural areas where officials indicate there is little tourism far from a commercial airport. The individuals use what appears to be scripted language when confronted by security guards, according to officials familiar with the tactics. When stopped, the Chinese nationals say they are tourists and have lost their way.
We learned in May that Chinese nationals posed as tourists to access military bases in Alaska:
In one incident, a vehicle with Chinese citizens blew past a security checkpoint at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, several soldiers told USA TODAY. The vehicle was eventually stopped, and a search found a drone inside the vehicle. The occupants claimed they were tourists who had gotten lost.
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Details about the incidents remain mostly classified. However, military briefings and publicly available information lay out why the Chinese government would be interested in Alaska where some of the Pentagon’s most sophisticated military capabilities and high-end war games reside.
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Dear God
C’mon man! Xi is a great guy!
“I know you are tourists and you have gotten lost. I was just writing next year’s investigative reports. They say after you got lost you were never heard from again.”
when I was in China in the 1990’s looking to buy microscopes for resale to schools and clinics I was surprised how many people would tell me that they had been to the USA. Some spoke better English than I do.
Gee, I wonder how that excuse would work in China.
The war with China began years ago. The trouble is that too few of our so-called leaders are willing to do anything about it, and that so many are essentially bought and paid for by the CCP.
“”The war with China began years ago.””
]
Yeah, around 1949.
There are very few true patriots in our government today.
They’re just looking for jobs at SpaceX!
I didn’t realize military bases had tourism
“Elections have consequences”,…stolen elections, dire ones
How many of these spies have been arrested and charged? How many convicted?
The impact is already being felt. The Trip Advisor star ratings of the various missile bases have recently plummeted.
If the Chinese really want something they need not go through this subterfuge. They’ll just stuff a few million into Hunter’s G-string.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the government started investigating reports of Chinese nationals posing as tourists to gain access to U.S. military bases at least 100 times in the past few years.
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All the more reason to revoke all tourist, work, and educational visas for Chinese nationals. Just get them all out of the country altogether and stop this nonsense. Especially since Xi has declared that all Chinese nationals anywhere in the world are spies for the Chinese government and the CCP. It’s time to end this lunacy and acknowledge the fact that China and the CCP are our enemies. And deal with them accordingly.
The Chinese Embassy brushed off the allegations: “We urge the relevant U.S. officials to abandon the Cold War mentality, stop groundless accusations, and do more things that are conducive to enhancing mutual trust between the two countries and friendship between the two peoples.”
That’s rich coming from them. I doubt that an American coming within a country mile of a Chinese military installation would get the benefit of the doubt.