Two US Navy Sailors Arrested For Leaking Sensitive Military Operation Details To China

Two California-based U.S. Navy sailors have been charged with providing sensitive military information to China, according to Associated Press reports.

Jinchao Wei, a sailor assigned to the San Diego-based USS Essex and Wenheng Zhao, based at Naval Base Ventura County, are accused of passing detailed information on military operations and technical material to Chinese intelligence. The two cases are separate, and it is unclear if the sailors were courted by the same Chinese intelligence officer.

Both men pleaded not guilty in federal courts in San Diego and Los Angeles. They were ordered to be held until their detention hearings, scheduled for Aug 8.

U.S. officials have expressed concern about the espionage threat posed by the Chinese government, which has been implicated in several criminal cases involving the theft of sensitive government and commercial information.

“Through the alleged crimes committed by these defendants, sensitive military information ended up in the hands of the People’s Republic of China,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman for the Southern District of California.

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