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House Committee Probes DHS, DoD, and FBI on Chinese Nationals' Incursions into U.S. Military Sites

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN), and Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence Chairman August Pfluger (R-TX), sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and FBI Director Christopher Wray, expressing concerns over the agencies' response to threats from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) identified in a recent Wall Street Journal exclusive. The letter highlights incidents where Chinese foreign nationals, posing as tourists, attempted to access U.S. military bases and sensitive U.S. sites as many as 100 times in recent years.

Key Takeaways:

  • The letter sheds light on the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) espionage activities, where Chinese nationals pose as tourists to access U.S. military bases and sensitive sites.
  • Between 2019 and 2022, there were 100 reported incidents of Chinese nationals attempting to access U.S. military bases and sensitive sites, with some instances involving physical bypassing of security guards.
  • The CCP's objectives appear to be testing U.S. security practices, gathering intelligence, and potentially infiltrating sensitive military personnel.
  • The letter criticizes the Biden-Harris administration's response to the CCP's activities, calling it "weakness on the world stage."
  • The House Committee is requesting documents and information on the agencies' efforts to mitigate these activities, including any measures to protect against the CCP's use of source code in infiltrating and maintaining access to ICT supply chains.
  • The Committee has previously sent letters to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) regarding CCP threats to U.S. homeland security.

Statistics:

  • As many as 100 incidents of Chinese nationals attempting to access U.S. military bases and sensitive sites have been reported since 2019.
  • Between 2019 and 2022, there were multiple reported incidents of Chinese nationals physically bypassing security guards at U.S. military bases.
  • In June 2020, three Chinese foreign nationals were sentenced to prison for illegal photography of military sites at the U.S. Naval Air Station in Key West, Florida.

Sources:

  • House Committee on Homeland Security, "Chairmen Green, Pfluger Probe DHS, DoD, and FBI Response to Chinese 'Gateway Crashers'," September 19, 2023.
  • Wall Street Journal, "Exclusive: Chinese Nationals Pose as Tourists to Access U.S. Military Bases."
  • [https://homeland.house.gov/2023/09/19/chairmen-green-pfluger-probe-dhs-dod-fbi-response-to-chinese-foreign-nationals-gate-crashers/](https://homeland.house.gov/2023/09/19/chairmen-green-pfluger-probe-dhs-dod-fbi-response-to-chinese-foreign-nationals-gate-crashers/)

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