(TruthAndLiberty.com) – The Department of Defense and the FBI have, according to recent reports, tracked over 100 incidents where Chinese nationals who pretended to be visiting the country for tourism attempted to breach federal sites or military bases.
Those involved in the incidents have been dubbed “gate crashers” and they include Chinese nationals who attempted to enter a New Mexico U.S. missile range, to scuba drivers who tried to get close to a Florida U.S. government rocket launch site by swimming through murky waters. These trends exhibit an increase in possible espionage threats during a time when authorities believe that the Chinese government is trying to get its country’s nationals to attempt to breach the facilities and report back on their findings.
An FBI spokesperson spoke up after the report stating that the “greatest long-term counterintelligence threat” to the country’s intellectual property and data comes from China. In an interview with Fox News Digital an FBI spokesperson noted that the Chinese government was engaging in a multifaceted campaign “of theft and malign influence” without taking into account the laws and international norms that are not tolerated by the FBI.
Late last year a review by several agencies, including the Department of Defense and the FBI was focused on finding ways to deter these incidents. It is not yet clear how many of these incidents are intentional. For example, in one case, some Chinese nationals had stated that they were searching the closest McDonald’s or Burger King using Google Maps. The fast-food chains are indeed located close to the military base.
In a different incident, one of the Chinese nationals claimed to have had a reservation in a hotel located within the military base.
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