Two U.S. sailors arrested for allegedly spying for China

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U.S. officials announced the arrests during a press conference in San Diego. Associated Press/Photo by Meg McLaughlin/The San Diego Union-Tribune

Two U.S. sailors arrested for allegedly spying for China

Federal officials on Thursday said Jinchao Wei and Wenhen Zhao had been indicted for providing Chinese officials with sensitive military information. Officials arrested 22-year-old Wei on Wednesday as he arrived for work at the Naval Base San Diego and charged him with espionage. Wei was born in China and became a U.S. citizen in 2022. He was sending photos and videos of the USS Essex and other Navy ships to a Chinese officer the same year, prosecutors say. Federal defenders submitted a not guilty plea on Wei’s behalf.

What charges were levied against Zhao? Authorities on Wednesday also arrested Zhao and charged him with accepting bribes to share military documents. The indictment alleges that Zhao shared information with a Chinese handler from August 2021 to May 2023, including operational plans for a major military exercise in the Indo-Pacific.

Dig deeper: Read Todd Vician’s report in WORLD Magazine on another recent attempt by China to spy on the U.S.

Lauren Canterberry

Lauren Canterberry is a reporter for WORLD. She graduated from the World Journalism Institute and the University of Georgia with a degree in journalism, both in 2017. She worked as a local reporter in Texas and now lives in Georgia with her husband.