An illegal Chinese migrant was arrested in California after sneaking onto a military base and refusing to leave, heightening fears Beijing spies are trying to infiltrate sensitive sites in the U.S.
Border Patrol agents headed to a Marine Corps base after an unnamed Chinese national ‘who entered the base [without] authorization’ also ‘ignored orders to leave.’
‘Subject was confirmed to be in the country illegally. His purpose & intent behind his actions are still being investigated,’ Chief Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino wrote on X Friday.
This most recent breach comes as the U.S. is increasingly dealing with sensitive military bases being infiltrated by the Chinese.
There have been more than 100 instances in which U.S. military bases were infiltrated by Chinese nationals over the last several years.
Chinese nationals posing as ‘tourists’ wandered onto a missile launch site in New Mexico, according to a Wall Street Journal report last year.
Others staged as scuba divers in order to get close to a Florida rocket launch site, and another group claimed to be staying on an Army base in Alaska.
The operatives have reportedly claimed to be tourists who are ‘lost’ and unable to find their way to a Burger King or McDonalds coincidentally close to a U.S. military base.
Government officials say that Chinese nationals are often ‘pressed into service’ and required to report their findings back to the Chinese government.
According to the report, the FBI, Defense Department and other agencies have been aware of the infiltrations and have held summits in order to address the problem.
The infiltration comes just months after the Chinese spy balloon crossed over the U.S., 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 caught heat for downplaying the Chinese spy balloon that drifted across the U.S., alleging that Beijing may not have known about the operation.
Most of the Chinese nationals who are caught are cited, given small fines and asked not to return, as trespassing is generally not considered a federal crime.
A spokesperson with the Chinese embassy in D.C. called the report ‘purely ill-intentioned fabrications.’
‘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,’ Liu Pengyu said.
In what the Journal described as a ‘recent case,’ a group of Chinese citizens claimed that they were staying a Holiday Inn which is located in Fort Wainright, Alaska.
Security at the base became immediately suspicious as tourism in the area is extremely unusual. The base plays host to the US Army’s 11th Airborne Division.
Emily Harding, a former official with the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, told WSJ that the Chinese spy operation is more of a numbers game.
‘The advantage the Chinese have is they are willing to throw people at collection in large numbers. If a few of them get caught, it will be very difficult for the U.S. government to prove anything beyond trespassing, and those who don’t get caught are likely to collect something useful,’ Harding said.
