Here’s the latest development: The FBI has arrested two Chinese nationals who initially entered the U.S. with a tourist visa that’s now expired. They are accused of gathering intelligence on U.S. Navy personnel and enlisting assets for the Chinese Communist Party.
It’s a good bust, but it raises some questions.
These two individuals are facing serious allegations for supposedly working as agents for the People’s Republic of China, tasked with collecting intelligence on U.S. Navy service personnel and bases, in addition to recruiting military members to undertake missions for China’s primary foreign intelligence agency, the Ministry of State Security (MSS).
The Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed that Yuance Chen, a Chinese national residing in Happy Valley, Oregon, and Liren Lai, who arrived in Houston on a tourist visa in April 2025, were taken into custody on Friday. They are both charged with directing and executing various covert intelligence activities in the U.S. on behalf of the Ministry of State Security.
Along with assisting with the recruitment of potential MSS assets and gathering intel about service members and bases, the two men are accused of facilitating a “dead drop” payment of cash on behalf of the MSS.
The FBI arrested both men on Friday – Chen was arrested in Happy Valley while Lai was arrested in Houston – with help from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).
This is not the act of a friendly nation. This is the act of, at best, a rival – at worst, an enemy. China has, in recent years, been flexing its muscles in the western Pacific, and the United States would be its primary opponent should the Middle Kingdom choose to take that flexing to the next level.
FBI Director Kash Patel said:
“Today’s arrests reflect the FBI’s unwavering commitment to protecting our national security and safeguarding the integrity of our military,” told Fox News Digital. “The individuals charged were acting on behalf of a hostile foreign intelligence service — part of the Chinese Communist Party’s broader effort to infiltrate and undermine our institutions. Thanks to outstanding coordination with our partners, including NCIS, we disrupted those efforts and sent a clear message: the United States will not tolerate espionage on American soil. Our counterintelligence operations remain focused, vigilant, and relentless.”
Indeed, the Chinese intelligence services even infiltrated the office of a sitting Congressman from California.
