President Trump and his allies knew the military was compromised. It’s worse than they previously thought.
Because Trump’s FBI and DOJ just uncovered a sleeper cell plot to invade the American military.
FBI Busts Chinese Spy Ring Targeting U.S. Navy in Major Crackdown
Federal authorities have charged two Chinese nationals with espionage for allegedly conducting a multi-year operation to infiltrate U.S. Navy personnel and installations on behalf of Beijing’s intelligence services. The arrests mark a significant escalation in the Trump administration’s efforts to counter Chinese espionage on American soil.
The FBI apprehended Yuance Chen and Liren “Ryan” Lai on Friday after a lengthy investigation revealed a sophisticated scheme involving cash dead drops and covert surveillance of Navy facilities. Court documents detail how the duo allegedly targeted sailors and recruitment centers to gather sensitive information for China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS).
“Two Chinese nationals were caught spying on our Navy and trying to recruit American service members for the CCP’s intel service. Our FBI won’t stand for it. We tracked them, we stopped them, and we’re not done yet,” FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X, highlighting the operation’s success.
Chen, a lawful U.S. resident since 2015, was arrested outside his home in Happy Valley, Oregon. Lai, who overstayed a tourist visa, was detained in Houston during a coordinated sweep by Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents. Both appeared in court Monday in Portland and Houston, respectively, facing charges of acting as unregistered foreign agents, which carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Prosecutors are seeking pre-trial detention, citing the defendants as significant flight risks. The unsealed complaint reveals that Lai recruited Chen during a 2021 trip to Guangzhou, where MSS officers provided tasking orders, cash payments, and cover stories to facilitate their operations.
In January 2022, the pair allegedly arranged a $10,000 dead drop in a Livermore, California, recreation center locker to fund their activities. The MSS, China’s primary civilian intelligence agency, has increasingly targeted ethnic Chinese communities abroad to expand its espionage network, according to U.S. officials.
Throughout 2022 and 2023, Chen reportedly visited a Navy installation in Washington state and a San Gabriel recruiting office, where he photographed a bulletin board listing recruits, many of whom were Chinese-born. He sent these images to his MSS handler, the FBI said.
Chen also allegedly cultivated an online relationship with an enlisted sailor, securing a January 2025 tour of the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier in San Diego. Within hours, he transmitted the sailor’s personal details to his handlers in Guangzhou, according to court filings.
Further meetings with MSS officers in Guangzhou in April 2024 and March 2025 allowed Chen to report progress and negotiate additional payments. Meanwhile, Lai traveled across the Southwest by car this spring, movements the FBI described as consistent with operational surveillance.
“This case underscores the Chinese government’s sustained and aggressive effort to infiltrate our military and undermine our national security from within,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said, vowing to hold foreign operatives accountable and protect Americans from covert threats.
The arrests come as the Trump administration intensifies its focus on countering China’s growing military and intelligence activities. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, testifying Tuesday before the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, called China the Pentagon’s top regional priority.
“Our pacing threat is Communist China,” Hegseth told lawmakers alongside Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, emphasizing President Trump’s “peace through strength” approach to deter Beijing’s ambitions.
Hegseth warned that China’s rapid military buildup and invasion drills near Taiwan threaten U.S. interests, potentially disrupting American re-industrialization and economic stability. “China is undertaking a historic military buildup and actively rehearsing for an invasion of Taiwan,” he said, stressing the need for a robust U.S. military to counter these moves.
General Caine echoed these concerns, noting that China’s People’s Liberation Army is conducting increasingly complex and frequent operations targeting Taiwan. “These aggressive maneuvers are not routine exercises, they are rehearsals for a forced unification,” he said.
The arrests and heightened rhetoric back the Trump administration’s commitment to confronting Chinese espionage and military posturing, aligning with recent warnings from U.S. Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo about Beijing’s diversifying military exercises, as reported by the Financial Times last month.
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