MADRID, 3 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The United States Department of Justice reported Thursday that two US Navy personnel in the state of California have been detained for transmitting confidential military information to China.
US Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen said in a statement that both are accused of “betraying the public trust” and “violating the commitments they made as military personnel to protect the United States.”
Specifically, Jinchao Wei, also known as Patrick Wei, has been detained on espionage charges upon his arrival at the San Diego naval base –home port of the United States Pacific Fleet– for revealing Defense information to a Chinese intelligence official.
Wei worked on the amphibious assault ship USS Essex, stationed at the San Diego base, and had access, as a machinist’s assistant, to information related to weaponry as well as the ship’s propulsion systems.
Wei transmitted photographs, videos and documents to the Chinese official — hiding his communications with encryption systems — in exchange for “thousands of dollars,” the Justice Department reported in the statement.
On the other hand, the petty officer, Wenheng Zhao, also known as Thomas Zhao, has been detained after being accused of receiving bribes in exchange for passing on confidential information to a Chinese spy posing as a maritime investigator.
Zhao, who disclosed information regarding a large-scale military exercise in the Indo-Pacific region from August 2021 to May 2023, was working at the Ventura County Naval Base in Port Hueneme. Likewise, the sailor also came to photograph plans for a radar system stationed at a military base in Okinawa, Japan.
