US soldiers charged with the sale of military secrets to China

US soldiers charged with the sale of military secrets to China

On Thursday, two active soldiers from the US Army and a former soldier were arrested. They are accused of selling military secrets to buyers in China, such as the Ministry of Justice of the United States announced.

The arrested in detail

The two active soldiers were identified as Jian Zhao and Li Tian. Both are stationed on the Joint Base Lewis-McCchord in the state of Washington. Zhao, which serves in the rank of a Battery Supply Sergeant, is assigned to the 17th Feldartillerie Brigade. Tian, ​​on the other hand, works as an administrator for health services.

The former soldier, Ruoyu Duan from Hillsboro, Oregon, was at the army from 2013 to 2017. Tian and Duan were accused of being involved "in a conspiracy to inspect bribes and theft of government funds". Zhao is also among these accusations and was also charged with "information about national defense" to a "non -named person who is not authorized to receive them".

Details about the charges

according to a indictment on Wednesday at the US district court for the western state accused of having managed valuable military materials worth over $ 55 million. He is accused of having sold almost two dozen as "secret" or "strictly secret" classified hard drives as well as sensitive military documents and information about high-mobile tactics rocket systems (HIMARS) to buyers in China. One of these buyers is referred to as a "co -swörer" from Changchun.

collaboration and increased investigations

A separate indictment in the US district court of Oregon explains that Duan and Tian have worked together between November 2021 and at least December 19, 2024 in order to steal and pass on sensitive military information about the operational skills of the US army, including technical manuals. Tian is said to have sent Duan links to Google Drive accounts that contained sensitive information about the U.S. army weapons systems, such as Bradley and Stryker fighting vehicles.

state reactions and follow

"Those arrested today are accused of having betrayed our country, actively working on weakening America's defense skills and helping our opponents in China," said Attorney General Pamela J. Bondi in a press release. "You will be held accountable quickly, difficult and comprehensively."

"These arrests should send a message to potential spies that we and our partners have the will and the ability to find you, trace you back and to take it back," said W. Mike Herrington, the leading special agent of the FBI office in Seattle. The case was examined by the FBI and the Army Intelligence Command.