According to a report by Reuters, a US Navy officer named Wenhan Zhao has confessed to accepting bribes in exchange for providing classified information to Chinese intelligence. The 26-year-old military personnel admitted to sending photographs of US military exercise plans in the Indo-Pacific region and schematics of a radar system at an American military base in Okinawa, Japan, to his Chinese contact. Zhao received approximately $15,000 for the information he provided. He now faces up to 20 years of imprisonment.
In a similar incident, a retired Sergeant from US military intelligence named Joseph Schmidt was also arrested upon his return from Hong Kong to San Francisco. The US Department of Justice has reported that Schmidt attempted to transfer classified data to China. He could be sentenced to up to ten years in prison.
Earlier, it was reported that Zheng Baigan, the head of the entry-exit management department of China’s Ministry of Public Security, proposed increased intelligence sharing among the BRICS countries to combat illegal migration. This development has raised concerns within US intelligence agencies about potential Chinese influence.
The arrests of both Wenhan Zhao and Joseph Schmidt highlight the ongoing risks of espionage and the need for heightened security measures within the US military. It also underscores the growing concerns over China’s efforts to obtain classified information from foreign sources. The US government and intelligence community must remain vigilant to protect national security interests and prevent further breaches of sensitive information.
