FBI Arrests Chinese Nationals Spying On U.S. Navy Facilities

Two Chinese nationals have been charged with serving as agents for the government of the People’s Republic of China, accused of collecting intelligence on U.S. Navy personnel and installations while also recruiting other military members to collaborate with China’s main foreign intelligence agency, the Ministry of State Security (MSS), as reported on Monday.

The Department of Justice revealed that Yuance Chen, a resident of Happy Valley, Oregon, and Liren Lai, who arrived in Houston on a tourist visa in April 2025, have been arrested. Both individuals face charges related to executing covert intelligence operations in the United States on behalf of the MSS.

In addition to enlisting potential MSS assets and gathering sensitive information regarding service members and military facilities, the two men are also accused of facilitating a cash payment through a “dead drop” on behalf of the MSS.

The FBI apprehended both individuals on Friday: Chen in Happy Valley and Lai in Houston, with support from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), according to Fox.

“Today’s arrests demonstrate the FBI’s steadfast commitment to safeguarding our national security and preserving the integrity of our military,” stated FBI Director Kash Patel in an interview with Fox News.

“The individuals charged were operating on behalf of a hostile foreign intelligence service — part of the broader initiative by the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate and undermine our institutions,” he added.

“Thanks to exceptional coordination with our partners, including NCIS, we have disrupted those efforts and conveyed a clear message: the United States will not accept espionage on its soil. Our counterintelligence operations remain focused, vigilant, and relentless,” he concluded.

According to a criminal complaint lodged in the Northern District of California, the Department of Justice (DOJ) indicated that the government of the People’s Republic of China engages in intelligence operations against the United States through various means, including the Ministry of State Security (MSS), which is responsible for intelligence collection on civilians as well as foreign intelligence, counterintelligence, and political security.

The complaint further claims that Lai enlisted Chen to work for the MSS in 2021, as reported by Fox.

In January 2022, the two individuals were in Guangzhou, China, where they allegedly coordinated a dead-drop payment of no less than $10,000 on behalf of the MSS. This operation involved collaboration with accomplices in the United States to conceal a backpack containing the cash in a day-use locker located in Livermore, California, as continued by Fox.

Following the cash drop, Lai and Chen persisted in their activities for the MSS, aiding in the identification of Navy personnel who might be inclined to cooperate with the agency.

The DOJ reported that during 2022 and 2023, the two visited a U.S. Naval facility in Washington State as well as a Navy recruitment center in San Gabriel, California.

At the recruitment center, Chen allegedly took photographs of a bulletin board that displayed the names, programs, and hometowns of Navy recruits. The majority of those listed had “China” indicated as their hometown, and the DOJ asserts that the photographs were sent to an MSS intelligence officer in China, as continued in the Fox report.

The DOJ also alleged that the MSS provided Chen with instructions on what to communicate to potential recruits regarding payments, preferred Navy job assignments, and strategies to minimize the risk of Chen being detected.

According to the complaint, Chen ultimately interacted with a Navy member through social media and arranged a tour of the USS Abraham Lincoln in San Diego with that individual. Chen reportedly relayed information about the Navy employee back to the MSS.

The complaint additionally claims that Chen visited Guangzhou in April 2024 and March 2025 to confer with MSS intelligence officials regarding compensation for particular assignments, according to Fox.

Lai is reported to have traveled to Houston in April 2025, asserting that the purpose of the trip was related to his online retail business and that he intended to remain for a duration of two weeks, as stated in the report.

Both Chen and Lai have been accused of functioning as agents of a foreign government within the United States without informing the attorney general. Should they be found guilty, they could incur fines reaching $250,000 and face imprisonment for up to 10 years, Fox noted.