The Bureau;
In a case underscoring the growing infiltration of U.S. military ranks by China’s intelligence networks and troubling trends involving the recruitment of first-generation Chinese Americans, federal prosecutors announced indictments Thursday against three soldiers—two active-duty and one former—for allegedly selling highly classified U.S. military secrets to buyers in China.
The Justice Department unsealed indictments alleging that Jian Zhao, a supply sergeant with oversight of $55 million in Army materials in Washington state, led an espionage scheme involving the sale of top-secret U.S. military intelligence to individuals in China, including explosive information on U.S. military readiness to fight a war against China. Much of the case appears to center on Beijing’s plans to take Taiwan by force—a concern of growing urgency for leaders in Washington, Taipei, and Tokyo—and how U.S.-led forces would respond, including what weapons systems and joint-command structures could be brought to bear against China’s strategy to surround Taiwan with naval vessels, bombard the island with rockets, and deploy amphibious landing forces.
Zhao is charged with conspiracy to obtain and transmit national defense information, bribery of a public official, and theft of government property. He allegedly sold data on High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and detailed documents concerning U.S. military readiness and exercises with an unidentified partner nation, which most likely refers to potential conflict scenarios involving Taiwan.
