The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reportedly tracked over 100 incidents involving Chinese nationals posing as tourists to infiltrate U.S. military bases and other federal sites.
This alarming trend, dubbed the ‘gate crashers’ phenomenon, is raising serious concerns about potential espionage threats.
These so-called ‘gate crashers’ have been detected in various scenarios, from crossing into a U.S. missile range in New Mexico to being caught swimming near a government rocket launch site in Florida.
The audacity of these actions has left several U.S. officials astounded and deeply concerned about the security of our nation’s defense installations.
蝇拍 (Ying Pai) or Nationalist Hawks are a special group of Chinese Nationalists who have a massive influence over Chinese foreign and domestic policy
They are present in all the layers of Chinese Politics and Bureaucracy and will drive China to the point of isolation in order… https://t.co/M9K6NWTgMd pic.twitter.com/UdXLSPTPhr
— Don Muji (@zhukov45) September 4, 2023
The FBI believes that the Chinese government may be compelling its nationals to test out and report back on security practices at these installations.
An FBI spokesperson stated, “The greatest long-term counterintelligence threat to our nation’s information and intellectual property is from China.”
The spokesperson further emphasized that the FBI will not tolerate the Chinese government’s broad, diverse campaign of theft and malign influence, which blatantly disregards international laws and norms.
In response to this growing threat, the FBI, Defense Department, and other agencies held a review late last year focused on deterring such incidents. However, it remains unclear how many of these incidents were benign in nature.
Some Chinese nationals claimed to have been following Google Maps to the nearest fast-food restaurant, which happened to be located on a nearby military base.
In more concerning incidents, Chinese nationals arrived claiming they had hotel reservations on a military base.
One particularly alarming incident involved a group of Chinese nationals attempting to force their way past guards at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. They claimed to have reservations at a commercial hotel on the base, which is home to the U.S. Army’s 11th Airborne Division focused on Arctic warfare.
Reminder that Papa Q. Bear tried to warn us about Chinese nationalists buying up American homes and farm land way back in 1994.
If only we listened! pic.twitter.com/IoHHoXiEJb
— Lucky (@TheMagaHulk) August 27, 2023
Other repeat incidents occurred at a U.S. Army range where Chinese nationals, claiming to be tourists at nearby White Sands National Park, crossed into the adjacent missile site and took pictures.
In another incident, Chinese nationals were caught scuba diving off Cape Canaveral, home to the Kennedy Space Center, which is used as a launch site for spy satellites and other military missions.
The incidents have reportedly occurred in rural areas where tourism is less common and far from a commercial airport. Officials noted the Chinese nationals often use what they described as a scripted language, claiming when stopped that they are tourists who have lost their way.
This disturbing trend of low-level Chinese intelligence collection is seen as a numbers game by some experts.
The Chinese government appears willing to risk numerous people in their collection efforts, knowing that if a few get caught, it will be difficult for the U.S. government to prove anything nefarious beyond trespassing.
