SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
Jury convicts US Navy sailor of spying for China
Los Angeles, United States, Aug 21 (AFP) Aug 21, 2025

A US Navy sailor has been convicted of espionage for selling military secrets to China for $12,000, the Justice Department said Thursday.


Jinchao Wei was found guilty by a federal jury in California on Wednesday after a five-day trial, the department said in a statement.


Wei, a machinist's mate on the amphibious assault ship USS Essex, and another sailor, Wenheng Zhao, were arrested in August 2023 and charged with spying for China.


Zhao pleaded guilty and was sentenced in January of last year to 27 months in prison.


Wei went to trial and was convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage and other charges. He is to be sentenced on December 1.


Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division said Wei sent photographs and videos of US Navy vessels, ship movement information, technical manuals, and weapons capabilities to a Chinese intelligence officer, for which he was paid $12,000.


According to US officials, Zhao, who was stationed at a naval base north of Los Angeles, received nearly $15,000 from a Chinese intelligence officer for sensitive information regarding navy operational security, exercises and critical infrastructure.


Zhao specifically provided information about a large-scale maritime training exercise in the Pacific and electrical diagrams and blueprints for a radar system located in Okinawa, Japan, they said.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
AI systems proposed to boost launch cadence reliability and traffic management
China debuts Long March 12A reusable rocket in Jiuquan test flight
Curiosity Blog, Sols 4750-4762: See You on the Other Side of the Sun

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Redesigned carbon framework boosts battery safety and power
Molecular catalyst switches between hydrogen and oxygen production
Project Pele microreactor reaches key milestone with first TRISO fuel delivery

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
SDA expands Tracking Layer satellite awards and related missile defense contracts
Space Systems Command activates System Delta 80 for assured space access
Rheinmetall ICEYE Space Solutions to provide SAR reconnaissance data to German military

24/7 News Coverage
OPERA satellite data sharpens US crop and water management
Alen Space begins SATMAR satellite validation over Bay of Algeciras
Deep Arctic gas hydrate mounds host ultra deep cold seep ecosystem



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.