Two Chinese nationals have been arrested for allegedly spying on U.S. Navy facilities and attempting to recruit military personnel on behalf of China’s intelligence services, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on July 1.
The FBI arrested Yuance Chen, 38, and Liren “Ryan” Lai, 39, on June 27 in Happy Valley, Oregon, and Houston, respectively.
According to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, both men face charges related to conducting clandestine intelligence operations on behalf of China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS).
“This case underscores the Chinese government’s sustained and aggressive effort to infiltrate our military and undermine our national security from within,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.
The complaint states that Chen entered the United States on a tourist visa in 2015 and was granted conditional permanent residency through marriage in 2022. That same year, Chen and his wife—identified as “Associate #1”—traveled to Washington state, where they allegedly took photographs of sensitive areas at Naval Base Kitsap.
Chen was also directed to photograph a Navy recruitment center in San Gabriel, California, according to the complaint. While at the center, Chen and “Associate #1” allegedly took photos of bulletin boards listing the full names, programs, hometowns, and recruiter details of new U.S. Navy enlistees, in what the DOJ described as an attempt to help identify potential MSS assets.
“A majority of the recruits depicted in the photographs listed their hometown as China,” the document said, adding that those photos were transferred to someone suspected to be an MSS officer.
Lai, meanwhile, arrived in the United States via Houston in April on a business visa. He is accused of recruiting Chen in 2021 to work for the MSS.
In January 2022, the two men allegedly coordinated a “dead drop” operation in Livermore, California, delivering at least $10,000 in cash on behalf of the MSS, according to the DOJ. The money was allegedly left in a backpack in a day-use locker at a local gym.
The DOJ further alleges that the MSS instructed Chen on how to approach and recruit other military personnel, what to say about payments, which Navy assignments were of particular interest, and how to avoid detection.
According to the complaint, Chen began approaching an unnamed U.S. Navy employee over social media and later arranged a tour of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in San Diego with that individual. He allegedly forwarded the employee’s information to his MSS handler.
In addition to his activities in the United States, Chen allegedly traveled to Guangzhou, China, in April 2024 and March 2025, where he met with MSS officers to discuss payment for his work.
Both men face charges of operating as agents of a foreign government without disclosure to the U.S. attorney general, a violation that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
FBI Director Kash Patel credited the arrests to what he called a “complex, coordinated effort” by multiple FBI field offices, including San Francisco, Houston, San Diego, and Portland, Oregon, alongside the bureau’s counterintelligence division.
“The Chinese Communist Party thought they were getting away with their scheme to operate on U.S. soil, utilizing spy craft, like dead drops, to pay their sources,” Patel said.
“The FBI will continue to vigilantly defend the homeland from China’s pervasive attempts to infiltrate our borders.”
Bill Pan is an Epoch Times reporter covering education issues and New York news.
Reprinted with Permission from The Epoch Times – By Bill Pan
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.
This is nothing new as the Russians and even some Allies do their part to recruit military personnel to be used as assets to find out our county’s secrets. A bigger problem is dealing with unfriendly countries that have purchased land near military facilities and have been monitoring activities. These need to be closed down asap.
Do the alligators at Alligator Alcatraz like Chinese food? Fairly certain their only complaint would be that an hour later they’re hungry again.
Two, What about other 200 running unrestricted?
10 years! What happen to HANGING for spying?
Article states that the crimes carry a “maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine”. They need to be imprisoned in Alligator Alcatraz.
So glad they were caught.
They need to be interrogated and
they need to go to prison for a long time
I am sure there are more just like them out there doing the same thing or trying to poison our farmlands.
China is not our Friend!
Spying around and taking photos While trying to recruit military people into their evil plans.Doesn’t this fall under execution? The charge sounds pretty wimpy if you ask me. No, we’ll keep them around for a few years letting our tax money pay for their room and board until they finally get traded for somebody that we want back.
The expression ” Loose Lips Sink Ships ” made sense back in the 1940’s during World War Two and I reckon it still does — because the message is clear and true. Good for the American intelligence services doing their job . Another good expression — Eternal vigilance is the price of Freedom ,” Right good article Bill Pan ,Well Done !
Instead of RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA! It should be CHINA, CHINA CHINA. Foreign Influence Task Force, China division department head, Laura Dehmlow, shut down the investigation into the Albany office Intelligence Information Report that the Chinese were interfering in the 2020 election by fabricating false ID’s for creating absentee ballots for Biden. Christopher Wray avoided bringing this up during his interview with congress instead focusing on the “false flag” Russian Collusion. She was also instrumental in covering up the Hunter Biden Laptop with Social Media “fact checkers”.
Chen’s wife wouldn’t happen to be Swalwell’s Fang Fang?
hang spies
Before you take as Gospel anything Epoch Times has to say about mainland China, take a look see at the background of its founder.
I won’t say more but i hope at least someone will actually look into this “bastion” of the Democratic “press”