Concerns about the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to conduct espionage on sensitive U.S. locations have been on the rise in recent years, including after a suspected Chinese spy balloon was permitted to sail across the country by the Biden administration more than a year ago.
More recently, news reports have revealed a notable spike in the number of Chinese nationals illegally crossing the southern border into the United States, sparking speculation that at least some of them are here on surveillance missions at the behest of their home countries.
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) reacted to such statistics in June, declaring: “I’m 99% certain that at least a little bit of this is Chinese military infiltrating for reasons harmful to our national security. Is it one person? Is it 100? Is it 1,000? We don’t know, but the fact that we have to ask this question is just outrageous. Clearly, that border is a big opportunity. Some of those people want to come here and have a better way of life, but I think some of those Chinese [nationals] quite possibly are here to spy and report back at a minimum.”
Anecdotal evidence has subsequently surfaced that seems to bolster Green’s concerns, including the recent arrest of a Chinese national who drove onto a U.S. Marine Corps base in California and refused to leave when confronted by military officials.
Authorities later confirmed that the suspect was in the country illegally and U.S. Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent Gregory K. Bovino indicated that the individual’s intentions for crossing into the protected area in Twentynine Palms on Wednesday remained under investigation.
BP agents responded to a call from the Marine Corp Base about a #Chinese national who entered the base w/o authorization, ignoring orders to leave. Subject was confirmed to be in the country illegally.
His purpose & intent behind his actions are still being investigated. pic.twitter.com/vaKmWSkLm9
— USBP Chief Patrol Agent Gregory K. Bovino (@USBPChiefELC) March 29, 2024
Of course, this incident is nothing new for authorities. Dozens of reports in recent years have included references to Chinese nationals making their way onto U.S. military bases.
While the Biden administration has attracted criticism from U.S. citizens over its seemingly nonchalant attitude toward Chinese provocations including the aforementioned balloon, Chinese embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu called on America to take an even more permissive stance toward his country’s actions in and toward the U.S.
“We urge the relevant U.S. officials to abandon the Cold War mentality, stop groundless accusations and do more things that are conducive to enhancing the mutual trust between the two countries and friendship between the two people,” he said.
