Two Navy sailors have been indicted for transmitting “sensitive” U.S. military data to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Justice Department (DOJ) announced on Thursday.
According to a DOJ press release, Navy sailor Jinchao Wei was arrested on Wednesday on “espionage charges” and is being indicted for conspiracy “to send national defense information to an intelligence officer” working for the Chinese government. Included in the unsealed indictment are allegations that Wei — who served as a sailor on the USS Essex stationed at Naval Base San Diego — began communicating with a PRC official in February 2022.
The official, according to the DOJ, requested Wei “provide information about the U.S.S. Essex and other Navy ships,” including “photos, videos and documents concerning U.S. Navy ships and their systems.” The agency says that Wei possessed a security clearance and had access to data on the Essex’s weapons and propulsion systems while serving on the ship.
“At the request of the intelligence officer, between March 2022 and the present, Wei sent photographs and videos of the Essex, disclosed the locations of various Navy ships and described defensive weapons of the Essex,” the DOJ press release reads. “In exchange for this information, the intelligence officer paid Wei thousands of dollars over the course of the conspiracy.”
According to the indictment, in the summer of 2022, Wei allegedly sent the PRC dozens of manuals detailing the Essex and other ships’ operations, structures, and systems. The Chinese government official continued to request such
