The Chinese Communist Party and its leader, President Xi Jinping, remain a growing threat to the United States on a variety of fronts. For years, the CCP has been known to engage in espionage to steal technology and research from U.S. companies and research universities, but China's efforts to spoil and undermine U.S. technology has grown more brazen to include sensitive military information.
As Guy reported for Townhall earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal revealed new information about the extent of the CCP's attempts at military espionage inside the United States, and it was jarring. "Chinese nationals, sometimes posing as tourists, have accessed military bases and other sensitive sites in the U.S. as many as 100 times in recent years, according to U.S. officials," WSJ reported. "They range from Chinese nationals found crossing into a U.S. missile range in New Mexico to what appeared to be scuba divers swimming in murky waters near a U.S. government rocket-launch site in Florida" and the "incidents, which U.S. officials describe as a form of espionage, appear designed to test security practices at U.S. military installations and other federal sites."
Now, just days after these revelations were widely reported, members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party are demanding answers from Biden administration officials about how Chinese nationals accessed sensitive areas and what, if anything, is being done to secure America's military installations and what they hold while holding alleged spies accountable.
To that end, a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and FBI Director Christopher Wray was sent by lawmakers including Select CCP Committee Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Reps. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), Rob Wittman (R-VA), Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO), Andy Barr (R-KY), Dan Newhouse (R-WA), John Moolenaar (R-MI), Darin LaHood (R-IL), Neal Dunn (R-FL), Jim Banks (R-IN), and Carlos Gimenez (R-FL).
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Saying they are "alarmed by recent reports suggesting that citizens of the People's Republic of China (PRC) may have attempted to commit more than one hundred acts of espionage at military bases and other sensitive locations throughout the United States," the lawmakers' letter requests "further details regarding these concerning reports and what measures the Department of Defense (DoD) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are taking to safeguard America's most sensitive sites, identify these agents, and protect the country from CCP espionage."
In addition to the espionage targeting U.S. military sites, the Select CCP Committee noted that there are "ongoing efforts to collect intelligence on the White House—including its layout, security, and communications equipment."
"These espionage efforts come on the heels of recent high-profile acts of espionage by the CCP against the United States," the letter continues, such as the Chinese spy balloon which transited most of the United States before being shot down and the hacking of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and other Biden administration officials by individuals in China.
To better understand what, if anything, the FBI and DoD are doing to address the CCP espionage, the committee requested a classified briefing no later than October 6 as well as documents related to Pentagon base security reviews conducted since 2018.
BREAKING: Chairman @RepGallagher, @RepAshleyHinson and Select Committee members request that @SecDef and @FBI Director Wray answer questions about the drastic increase of likely CCP spies penetrating US military bases.
— The Select Committee on the CCP (@committeeonccp) September 19, 2023
“In one case, potential agents infiltrated a U.S. Army test… pic.twitter.com/ly9myr9Bdk
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