US sailors ‘sold secrets to China’

Two US navy sailors have been charged with selling military ­secrets to China, with one ­accused of capturing photographs of military hardware during an international warfare exercise involving Australia.

The Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Essex, front, and the Royal Australian Navy Canberra-class landing helicopter dock HMAS Canberra transit the Pacific Ocean during Rim of the Pacific 2022. Picture: US Navy

Two US navy sailors have been charged with selling military ­secrets to China, with one ­accused of capturing photographs of military hardware during an international warfare exercise involving Australia.

Wei Jinchao 22, also known as Patrick Wei, is alleged to have captured and sent details of the world’s biggest international maritime wargames exercise – the Rim of the Pacific Exercise – involving Australia, the US, France, Canada and 22 other countries.

Mr Wei and another sailor, Zhao Wenheng, are China-born US citizens accused of sending sensitive military information to Chinese intelligence officers for cash, according to grand jury indictments from June 2022 and 2023 unsealed this month in the Southern and Central District of California district courts.

Both have pleaded not guilty.

A US Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey performs deck landings onboard HMAS Canberra during Exercise Rim of the Pacific 2022. Picture: Royal Australian Navy

Mr Wei, who had a security clearance that granted him access to highly classified information, was stationed on amphibious ­assault ship USS Essex as a ­machinist’s mate.

The USS Essex conducted training operations with Australian warships during the RIMPAC exercise in mid-2022.

According to Mr Wei’s indictment, he captured photographs of military hardware, including “guns, vehicles and planes”.

Documented operations between USS Essex and Australian warships include an oil replenishment exercise with HMAS Supply, and night exercises with HMAS Canberra involving US Marine Osprey aircraft flying ­between the two ships.

It is unclear whether any sensitive materials relating to Australian soldiers or assets participating in the training operation were captured and sent to China. A spokesman for the Australian Department of Defence said it did not comment on “intelligence matters’’.

The USS Essex and HMAS Supply conduct a replenishment exercise during the Rim of the Pacific Exercise in 2022. Picture: Royal Australian Navy

RIMPAC, which ran from June 29 to August 4, 2022, was led by the US and involved 38 surface ships, more than 30 uncrewed systems, nine national land ­forces, three submarines and 170 aircraft. On top of HMAS Canberra and Supply, Australia also had HMAS Warramunga, P-8A Poseidon aircraft and a submarine involved.

On July 7 – during the exercise – Mr Wei is also accused of sending “multiple photographs of military equipment” to a Chinese intelligence officer.

The indictment alleges he began communicating with the intelligence officer in February 2022, including secretly sending the locations of various navy ships, providing manuals for systems aboard navy ships and other espionage-related activity.

Mr Wei faces two counts of transmitting defence information to a foreign government and exporting defence articles without a licence. He is also charged with two counts of conspiracy for those same alleged offences.

Authorities allege he was first approached by a Chinese intelligence operative in February 2022 – before he was a US citizen – and prosecutors say he was paid $US10,000 to $US15,000.

Last week, the federal court in San Diego heard Mr Wei’s mother allegedly encouraged him to co-operate with the Chinese intelligence officer, saying it could assist him with obtaining a job in the Chinese Communist Party in the future.

The second sailor, Zhao Wenheng, is charged with conspiracy and receipt of a bribe.

He is alleged to have worked with a Chinese intelligence officer from August 2021 to May 2023, allegedly selling blueprints of a radar system in Okinawa and ­operational plans for another US military exercise in the Indo-­Pacific.

His charge alleges he also sent video and photos of sensitive material and received at least $US14,886 in payments from a Chinese intelligence officer.

RIMPAC, an American naval-led exercise, is held every two years off Hawaii and the coast of California.

In 2014, China was invited to participate, sending four ships – and an uninvited spy ship, according to US media reports.

But as the relationship between China and the West deteriorated, such co-operation ended, with deep concerns in the West about the build-up of the Chinese military and its persistent cyber-hacking and foreign interference.