Two active-duty U.S. soldiers and one former soldier were arrested Thursday and charged with giving classified information to the Chinese.
Indictments by federal grand juries in the District of Oregon and the Western District of Washington accuse the three of giving documents and hard drives about U.S. weapons to contacts in China as recently as December, the U.S. attorney for the District of Oregon said in a press release.
Sgt. Jian Zhao was charged for conspiring to obtain and transmit national defense information to an individual not authorized to receive it and also for bribery and theft of government property.
Also charged were 1st Lt. Li Tian and former U.S. soldier Ruoyu Duan with conspiring to commit bribery and theft of government property.
Both Zhao and Tian were stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in western Washington.
“While bribery and corruption have thrived under China’s Communist Party, this behavior cannot be tolerated with our service members who are entrusted with sensitive military information, including national defense information,” FBI Director Kash Patel said.
“The FBI and our partners will continue to work to uncover attempts by those in China to steal sensitive U.S. military information and hold all accountable who play a role in betraying our national defense. The FBI would like to thank U.S. Army Counterintelligence for their close partnership during this investigation.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi added, “The defendants arrested today are accused of betraying our country, actively working to weaken America’s defense capabilities and empowering our adversaries in China. They will face swift, severe and comprehensive justice.”
Tian and Duan were accused of conspiring with each other to surreptitiously gather sensitive military information related to the U.S. Army’s operational capabilities, including technical manuals and other sensitive information.
Tian allegedly transmitted this information to Duan in return for money, beginning in November 2021 and continuing until December 2024. Specifically, Tian was tasked with gathering information related to U.S. military weapon systems, including the Bradley and Stryker U.S. Army fighting vehicles.