Chinese Gate-Crashers at U.S. Bases Spark Espionage Concerns

The Defense Department, FBI and other agencies held a review last year to try to limit these incidents, which involve people whom officials have dubbed gate-crashers because of their attempts—either by accident or intentionally—to get onto U.S. military bases and other installations without proper authorization. They range from Chinese nationals found crossing into a U.S. missile range in New Mexico to what appeared to be scuba divers swimming in murky waters near a U.S. government rocket-launch site in Florida.

The incidents, which U.S. officials describe as a form of espionage, appear designed to test security practices at U.S. military installations and other federal sites. Officials familiar with the practice say the individuals are typically Chinese nationals pressed into service and required to report back to the Chinese government.

The FBI examined evidence earlier this year after the U.S. shot down a Chinese spy balloon that caused rising tensions between Washington and Beijing. Photo: FBI/Zuma Press

Concern over the base intrusions comes amid rising U.S.-China tensions, which spiked after a Chinese balloon overflew the U.S. earlier this year carrying what officials said was surveillance equipment. The incidents also cast a light on concerns that Beijing is using nontraditional means to gather intelligence on U.S. soil, whether through proximity to bases or through Chinese-produced commercial equipment that could be used to spy.

Officials at the White House and the Department of Homeland Security declined to comment, and the Pentagon only responded broadly to the issue. Government officials referred queries to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which said it wouldn’t comment on the issue.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington challenged the U.S. view of the incidents. “The relevant claims are purely ill-intentioned fabrications,” said Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson with the embassy. “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 mutual trust between the two countries and friendship between the two peoples.”

The incidents are concerning enough that Congress might look at legislation on the issue, according to Rep. Jason Crow (D., Colo.). Crow, a member of the intelligence committee, said lawmakers are concerned that some of these cases fall between the cracks, because most trespassing laws are state and local, and not federal.

“We need to work closely with our state and local partners to train them and equip them,” he said. “Right now, they don’t know how to deal with it.”

Some incursions are benign, such as those involving people who say they are following Google Maps to direct them to the nearest McDonalds or Burger King, which happens to be on a nearby military base. Others appeared to be more troubling, people familiar with the review said.

Officials described incidents in which Chinese nationals say they have a reservation at an on-base hotel. In a recent case, a group of Chinese nationals claiming they were tourists, tried to push past guards at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, saying they had reservations at a commercial hotel on the base. The base is home to the Army’s 11th Airborne Division, which is focused on Arctic warfare.

Congress is looking at legislation to deal with gate-crashing, according to Rep. Jason Crow (D., Colo.), a member of the intelligence committee. Photo: Michael Brochstein/Zuma Press

These cases at times occur in rural areas where officials indicate there is little tourism far from a commercial airport. The individuals use what appears to be scripted language when confronted by security guards, according to officials familiar with the tactics. When stopped, the Chinese nationals say they are tourists and have lost their way.

The problem of low-level Chinese intelligence collection like this is well known in intelligence circles, said Emily Harding, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington and a former deputy staff director at the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. It is a numbers game, she said.

“The advantage the Chinese have is they are willing to throw people at collection in large numbers,” she said. “If a few of them get caught, it will be very difficult for the U.S. government to prove anything beyond trespassing, and those who don’t get caught are likely to collect something useful.”

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